an online book by David Gurteen
Mindsets are our mental attitudes or approaches to a particular situation or task. They significantly influence our behavior, decisions, and outcomes. Our mindsets are shaped by our beliefs, values, and experiences and impact our ability to adapt to change, solve problems, and achieve goals.
A mindset refers to an established set of attitudes of a person or group concerning culture, values, philosophy, frame of reference, outlook, or disposition. It may also arise from a person's worldview or beliefs about the meaning of life.
Some scholars claim that people can have multiple types of mindsets. Some of these types include a growth mindset, fixed mindset, poverty mindset, abundance mindset, and positive mindset among others that make up a person's overall mindset.
More broadly, scholars have found that mindset is associated with a range of functional effects in different areas of people's lives. This includes influencing a person's capacity for perception by functioning like a filter, a frame of reference, a meaning-making system, and a pattern of perception. Mindset is described as shaping a person's capacity for development by being associated with passive or conditional learning, incremental or horizontal learning, and transformative or vertical learning. Mindset is also believed to influence a person's behavior, having deliberative or implemental action phases, as well as being associated with technical or adaptive approaches to leadership.
A mindset could create an incentive to adopt (or accept) previous behaviors, choices, or tools, sometimes known as cognitive inertia or groupthink. When a prevailing mindset is limiting or inappropriate, it may be difficult to counteract the grip of mindset on analysis and decision-making.
In cognitive psychology, a mindset is the cognitive process activated in a task. In addition to the field of cognitive psychology, the study of mindset is evident in the social sciences and other fields (such as positive psychology). Characteristic of this area of study is its fragmentation among academic disciplines.
Credit: Wikipedia - mindsetWe are all problem solvers, action oriented and results minded. It is illegal in this culture to leave a meeting without a to-do list. We want measurable outcomes and we want them now. What is hard to grasp is that it is this very mindset which prevents anything fundamental from changing. We cannot problem solve … Continue reading Transformation Is About a Shift in Language and Conversation Peter Block
Gurteen Knowledge Blog December 16, 2020, 10:47If you are interested in dialogic OD and how leadership needs to adapt to better cope with our increasingly complex world, this paper from Gervase Bushe and Robert Marshak should be of interest: The Dialogic Mindset: Leading Emergent Change in a Complex World. In the paper, they make seven assumptions … Continue reading The Dialogic Mindset Leading Emergent Change in a Complex World
In this book, The Scout Mindset, Julia Galef explains that we see what we want to see when it comes to what we believe. In other words, we have what Julia Galef calls a “soldier” mindset. From tribalism and wishful thinking to rationalizing in our personal lives and everything in between, we are driven to … Continue reading Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don’t by Julia Galef (2021)
Stop the paternalistic attempt to define how people think and engineer a XYZ culture and instead focus on creating and disrupting connections and engaging people in small actions in the here and now. Mindset change smacks of indoctrination. Credit: Dave Snowden Source: Dave Snowden in a post on LinkedIn.Posts where this quotation is embedded Actor-network Theory … Continue reading Mindset Change Smacks of Indoctrination Dave Snowden
If you want to make any real difference then stop making lists of idealised qualities of how things should be — they will always end up as anodyne platitudes — focus on understanding and critically ACTING in the present to start shifting things in a better direction Credit: Dave Snowden Source: Dave Snowden in a … Continue reading Stop Making Lists of Idealised Qualities of How Things Should Be Dave Snowden
We Are Not Enemies but Friends—mostly Conversational Leadership Mindset Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Conversational Leadership is a practice we can all engage in, regardless of our position, whether it is CEO or a new graduate employee. We can also practice it in our personal and social lives. One might even say it … Continue reading Introduction: Practicing Conversational Leadership Anyone can practice conversational leadership
Introduction: Practicing Conversational Leadership Three Questions for Meaningful Conversations Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Many factors, including conversational skills and habits, shape our ability to practice Conversational Leadership effectively. However, the most impactful factor is our mindset. Mindsets Let’s begin by defining a few terms to establish some context. Changing mindsets I have … Continue reading Conversational Leadership Mindset Developing a Conversational Leadership mindset
Multipolar Traps or Moloch Traps Relationships ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Colonialism has historically referred to the domination and control of one group or nation over another. However, the language of colonialism has recently been used to describe other forms of control and dominance. Introduction The term “colonialism” and related words, such … Continue reading Avoiding Modern-day Colonialism Colonialism: the dominance, control, and exploitation by one group over another
Introduction: Knowledge Delusion Three Forms of Reasoning: Deductive, Inductive and Abductive Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Beliefs are ideas that we hold to be true. However, we have no evidence to support many of them. False beliefs lead us to the wrong conclusions. We need to question and challenge our beliefs continually. What … Continue reading What Are Beliefs? Ideas that are held to be true but not necessarily supported by any evidence
Belief Systems What Are Mindsets? Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter An attitude is a tendency to think or feel about someone or something in a certain way. Over time, we tend to form our attitudes from our underlying values and beliefs, but other factors, such as our cultural environment, also influence us. Researchers … Continue reading Attitudes A tendency to think, or feel about someone or something in a certain way
Attitudes Values Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Mindsets are our mental attitudes or approaches to a particular situation or task. They are shaped by our beliefs, values, and experiences and can impact our ability to adapt to change, solve problems, and achieve goals. What are mindsets? Mindsets are the collection of mental attitudes … Continue reading What Are Mindsets? Ways of thinking, mental inclinations, dispositions, or frames of mind
Tribal Thinking Discrediting People ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Motivated reasoning is where we look for arguments in favor of conclusions we want to believe, regardless of the evidence. This is a primary stumbling block in forming sound beliefs and making good decisions. However, if we are science-curious, we are more likely … Continue reading Science Curiosity A desire to seek out and consume scientific information for pleasure
Adaptive Leadership ** The Role of Human Agency Within Actor-network Theory Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Society is shaped by both human and non-human factors. Traditional thinking often overlooks the influence of non-human entities like technology and infrastructure in driving change. Actor-Network Theory offers a way to understand how these elements interact to … Continue reading Actor-network Theory (ANT) Actor-Network Theory
Actor-network Theory (ANT) Retrospective Coherence in a Complex World Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Actor-network theory (ANT) expands our understanding of the factors and forces that shape outcomes in complex systems by recognizing the role of non-human entities. However, focusing exclusively on these elements can risk overlooking the distinct influence of human agency. … Continue reading The Role of Human Agency Within Actor-network Theory Actor-network theory
