Eat Your Wheaties

My wife is a nag, and the really frustrating part of that fact is that she is a nag who is almost always right. For almost two years she harped on me to read a book that she felt was too important for me to miss out on. Stubborn husband that I am, I pretty much put off reading anything she recommends. So, Mindset by Carol Dweck sat on our front foyer table staring at me for several months. Then it sat on the desk in my office for several more months before I finally picked it up last spring. My turn to nag. If you were assigned this book to read, as I believe most new administrators were, and never really got to it, or if you weren’t assigned the book but just never got around to it, don’t wait any longer. This one is easy to read an applicable to what we do in so many ways.For years I have been reading articles on the best way to praise students and even quoting a number of these articles in my staff newsletters. As it turns out this research is closely tied to the research we’re all being exposed to now on feedback. For a number of years we gave students generic praise, telling kids how smart they were. Dweck and others have now pointed out that we were going about it wrong all along. We know from Mindset that praising effort in students is where the real value in praise lies. If you just read this book for the second chapter, you’ll gain a much better understanding of how children think and how we, as educators, can help them develop the growth mindset that really can change lives.

What’s great about this book, though, is that there are all kinds of implications for leadership, too. Dweck shows us the effect a “brutal boss” can have on an organization. A controlling and abusive boss can actually put others into a fixed mindset. Instead of learning and growing, these employees live in fear of being judged, hampering innovation and creativity. Conversely, a growth mindset boss who can keep his ego in check can foster productivity and make the journey prosperous and fulfilling for others.

Consider just a few of the questions Dweck raises at the end of chapter five on mindsets and leadership:

·         Are there ways you could be less defensive about your mistakes?

·         Could you profit more from the feedback you get?

·         How do you act toward others in your workplace?

·         Do you ever affirm your status by demeaning others?

·         Do you ever hold back high-performing employees because they threaten you?

I have a thirteen year old daughter with a teacher who is actively teaching her students about the growth mindset. I certainly wouldn’t say that Anna has mastered the concept, but it is amazing to me to see her begin to connect effort and results, not an easy transformation for a kid who was used to cruising to good grades and accolades. The sweeping implications and power of the growth mindset make this a book worth your time. Consider  yourself nagged.