Fixed and Growth Mindsets in Change
A growth mindset is the belief that abilities can be developed through effort, good strategies and help from others; a fixed mindset treats ability as an innate, unchangeable trait. Carol Dweck popularized the distinction in Mindset (2006). In change, a growth mindset helps people treat new skills and early mistakes as part of learning.
Quick facts
- Type
- Concept (beliefs about ability and learning)
- Origin
- Carol S. Dweck, research on implicit theories of intelligence from the 1980s; Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006)
- Used when
- A change asks people to learn new skills or ways of working
- Related models
- Conscious competence learning model · Schein's learning anxiety · Change curve
- Exam relevance
- APMG CM Foundation, People & Change (PC0101, PC0202)
What is the difference between a fixed and a growth mindset?
Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford University, studied why some students persist after failure and others give up. With Ellen Leggett (1988) she described two implicit theories of ability: an entity theory, in which ability is fixed, and an incremental theory, in which it can grow. Her 2006 book renamed them the fixed and growth mindsets.
| Fixed mindset | Growth mindset | |
|---|---|---|
| Belief about ability | Mostly innate and stable | Developed through effort, strategy and help |
| Challenges | Avoided: they risk exposing a lack of ability | Sought: they are how ability grows |
| Effort | A sign of low talent | The path to mastery |
| Setbacks and feedback | Read as a verdict | Read as information |
A growth mindset is therefore a belief about whether ability can be developed, not ambition, optimism or a general liking for change.
Why is neuroplasticity relevant to growth mindset?
Neuroplasticity is the brain's capacity to form and reorganize connections in response to practice and experience. It continues throughout adult life, not only in childhood.
For a change manager this gives the growth-mindset message a factual basis: people can learn new ways of working at any age, given practice, feedback and support. Dweck's own interventions taught students that the brain strengthens with learning.
Neuroplasticity does not mean that learning is effortless or that everyone will reach the same level. It also does not support claims about fixed "learning styles" or limits on how many changes an adult can absorb.
Neuroplasticity is therefore the reason a growth mindset is realistic, not a promise that learning will be easy.
What do fixed and growth mindsets mean for people going through change?
Most changes ask people to become beginners again. A new system, process or role exposes gaps in skill that experienced staff may not have felt for years.
Someone with a fixed mindset is more likely to read early mistakes as proof that they "are not good with technology", to avoid trying the new way in front of others, and to defend the old way where they are already competent. Someone with a growth mindset is more likely to ask questions, practice and treat the dip in performance as temporary.
Mindset is not a fixed label either. Dweck describes everyone as a mix of both, with fixed-mindset reactions triggered by situations such as challenges, criticism or comparison with others.
A growth mindset therefore lowers the personal cost of learning during a change, which is where much resistance comes from.
How can a change manager encourage a growth mindset?
At Brightwater Health, nurses move from paper charts to an electronic record. The project team supports learning in four ways:
- Praise process, not talent. Team leaders recognize practice, good questions and better strategies, rather than calling some nurses "naturals".
- Use "not yet". Competence checks record skills as "not yet" rather than "failed", with a date for the next attempt.
- Make practice safe. A training environment lets staff make mistakes without risk to patients.
- Model learning. Senior clinicians admit what they are still learning and ask for help in front of their teams.
Systems must back the message. If early slowdowns are punished in performance reviews, talk of growth sounds empty.
Encouraging a growth mindset is therefore about how leaders respond to effort and mistakes, not about posters or slogans.
What are the criticisms of growth mindset research?
Mindset research has been the subject of an active replication debate.
- Two meta-analyses by Sisk and colleagues (2018) found weak links between mindset and academic achievement, and small effects from mindset interventions, mostly for students at risk or from lower-income backgrounds.
- A large national experiment led by David Yeager (2019) found a small improvement in grades among lower-achieving students, larger in schools whose peer culture supported the message.
- In 2023 two meta-analyses reached different conclusions. Macnamara and Burgoyne found no significant effect in the best-designed studies; Burnette and colleagues found small positive effects for some groups and conditions.
Dweck has also warned against a "false growth mindset" (Education Week, 2015): praising effort alone, or claiming a growth mindset without changing practices.
Most of this evidence comes from schools, not workplaces.
The growth mindset is therefore best treated as a useful frame for learning in change, with modest and context-dependent effects.
Growth mindset vs. change resilience: what is the difference?
| Growth mindset | Change resilience | |
|---|---|---|
| Core idea | A belief that ability can be developed | The capacity to cope with, recover from and adapt to change |
| Origin | Carol Dweck's research on implicit theories of ability | A broader body of work on individual and organizational resilience |
| Focus | Learning new skills and responding to setbacks in learning | Handling the stress and pace of change overall |
| How it is supported | Feedback on process, safe practice, "not yet" | Support, workload management, coping strategies |
A growth mindset can strengthen change resilience, but it is a narrower idea: a belief about learning and ability, not a general capacity to cope with change.
Exam focus
At Foundation level (PC0101, PC0202) expect recall of what distinguishes a growth mindset from a fixed mindset, and comprehension of why neuroplasticity matters for learning during change. A common trap describes a growth mindset as ambition, optimism or a preference for change rather than a belief that ability can be developed. Another trap links neuroplasticity to fixed learning styles. Practice in the People & Change domain set.
Practise this syllabus area →FAQ
What is a growth mindset in simple terms?
A growth mindset is the belief that you can get better at something through effort, good strategies and help from others. A fixed mindset is the belief that ability is mostly something you either have or do not have. Carol Dweck made the distinction widely known in her 2006 book Mindset.
Who came up with the growth mindset?
Psychologist Carol S. Dweck developed the idea from research on implicit theories of intelligence, published with Ellen Leggett in 1988 as entity and incremental theories. Her 2006 book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success introduced the terms fixed and growth mindset to a general audience.
Why does growth mindset matter in change management?
Most changes require people to learn new skills, and learning brings early mistakes and slower work. People with a growth mindset are more likely to treat that dip as temporary and keep practicing. Leaders can encourage this by recognizing effort and strategy and by making practice safe.
Has growth mindset research been debunked?
Not debunked, but debated. Meta-analyses since 2018 have found small effects from mindset interventions, mainly for some groups of students, and researchers disagree on how robust those effects are. The idea remains useful as a frame for learning, but claims of large effects are not supported.
What is neuroplasticity and why does it matter in change?
Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to form and reorganize connections through practice and experience, throughout adult life. It matters in change because it means people can learn new skills and habits at any age, which supports a growth-mindset approach to training and coaching.
Sources
- Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House (updated edition, Ballantine, 2016).
- Sisk, V. F., Burgoyne, A. P., Sun, J., Butler, J. L. & Macnamara, B. N. (2018). To what extent and under which circumstances are growth mind-sets important to academic achievement? Two meta-analyses. Psychological Science, 29(4), 549–571.
- Yeager, D. S., Hanselman, P., Walton, G. M., Murray, J. S., Crosnoe, R., Muller, C., et al. (2019). A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement. Nature, 573, 364–369.
- Macnamara, B. N. & Burgoyne, A. P. (2023). Do growth mindset interventions impact students' academic achievement? A systematic review and meta-analysis with recommendations for best practices. Psychological Bulletin, 149(3–4), 133–173.
- Burnette, J. L., Billingsley, J., Banks, G. C., Knouse, L. E., Hoyt, C. L., Pollack, J. M. & Simon, S. (2023). A systematic review and meta-analysis of growth mindset interventions: For whom, how, and why might such interventions work? Psychological Bulletin, 149(3–4), 174–205.
- Last reviewed