A growth mindset isn’t only necessary for personal development – it’s an organizational essential.
Teams with a growth mindset adapt faster, execute better, and remain resilient in the face of change. According to Jeff Harris, CEO of Jeff Harris and Associates, cultivating that mindset requires discipline, language awareness, and a willingness to take responsibility at every level of the organization.
Here are five practical steps leaders can take to foster a growth mindset within their teams.
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Encourage employees to take active responsibility
A growth mindset begins with ownership – over actions, outcomes, and accountability when things don’t go as planned.
“ When you don’t take personal responsibility for outcomes and for actions, you are creating a victim mentality by blaming others or blaming circumstances,” Harris says. “ That keeps you from being in a growth mindset because you’ve now abdicated the agency you have in a situation.”
Complaining shifts focus outward – to external obstacles, perceived unfairness, or other people’s shortcomings. Over time, this reinforces negative thinking through confirmation bias, training the brain to look for evidence that supports those beliefs. The result is inertia rather than action.
Growth-oriented organizations encourage individuals to own their role in outcomes, even when circumstances are challenging. Responsibility restores agency – and agency is the foundation of growth.
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Challenge limiting beliefs through language
The way people speak about their work matters more than many leaders realize. Limiting beliefs – statements like “this is hard,” “that will never work,” or “we’ve always done it this way” – shape behavior and expectations.
“ Your brain is like a Google search engine,” says Harris. “If you are telling it all the reasons why everything is hard, your brain is going to reinforce the concept. They call that confirmation bias.”
Leaders can model a growth mindset by using intentional, empowering language. Simple shifts – from “I have to” to “I get to,” or from “I need to” to “I’m choosing to” – reframe challenges as opportunities rather than burdens.
Encouraging teams to notice and challenge limiting language helps prevent negative beliefs from becoming organizational norms.
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Embrace fear as a sign of growth
A growth mindset doesn’t mean avoiding discomfort – it means recognizing it as a signal that meaningful progress is underway.
“If you’re not just a little bit afraid, you’re probably not reaching far enough,” Harris says.
He suggests fostering growth by adopting Dan Sullivan’s 4 C’s Process, which moves from commitment to courage, then to capability and confidence. When teams commit to ambitious goals, fear naturally follows. The key is persistence – continuing to act despite discomfort until new capabilities are built.
“When you have that muscle memory of having been in a difficult situation and really worked hard, and you see that by working hard and applying yourself over time, you develop a competence or a capability, then that gives you confidence,” he says.
Organizations that normalize fear as part of progress create upward momentum rather than downward spirals of avoidance and self-doubt.
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Focus on actions, not just outcomes
While goals matter, obsessing over outcomes can be counterproductive.
“If all you focus on is the outcome, it distracts you from executing on the day-to-day activities you need to get there,” Harris says.
A growth mindset prioritizes execution – the daily behaviors, habits, and processes that drive results. This includes viewing mistakes not as failures, but as feedback.
“Mistakes are only failures if you don’t learn from them,” Harris notes.
By shifting focus from outcomes to actions, teams stay engaged in what they can control and maintain momentum even when results take time.
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Reinforce confidence by celebrating wins and asking better questions
Confidence is built through evidence. By identifying benchmarks and milestones, leaders can help teams recognize progress as it happens.
“ Celebrate and measure the milestones along the way to success, and make sure that your outputs are quantifiable and measurable,” Harris says.
Encouraging teams to document successes and reflect on progress reinforces growth-oriented behavior. This can be as simple as reviewing weekly wins or maintaining a visible record of achievements.
Equally important is the quality of the questions leaders ask. Reframing “Why is this so hard?” to “What would have to be true in order for this to work?” encourages forward momentum and ownership.
“Better questions create better mindsets and better results,” Harris explains.
Fostering a growth mindset isn’t about relentless positivity – it’s about responsibility, resilience, and disciplined execution. When leaders model accountability, challenge limiting beliefs, embrace discomfort, focus on action, and reinforce confidence, growth becomes embedded in the culture rather than dependent on individual motivation.