A Giving Growth Mindset
By: Jason Gayton
Tags: Growth Mindset, Leadership Development, Leadership, Social Change, Transformation

A Growth mindset is fueled by a giving mindset. Christmas time is near and many celebrate the tradition of exchanging gifts. As we enter this special time I call our attention to those who have lost loved one’s. If you have lost someone, I pray this may bless you in some way and perhaps help to remember what you were given in time’s past.

The Christian world honors this time as the advent. The advent is a daily honoring of the period of waiting for the arrival of the Messianic King of prophecy, mostly in the book of Isaiah. In this story, wise men came from the East when they identified the astrological signs and the “star of Bethlehem” surfaced. With the bright star as their guide they came and gave gifts to honor the birth of the newborn king.

One of the long standing theological traditions within Christianity is “laying down one’s life” John 15:13. This has been a powerful force for frontier exploring pioneers, the pulpit and serving one’s country. The Korean war veteran Howard William Osterkamp is credited with coining the phrase “All gave some, some gave all.” The ultimate sacrifice of laying down one’s life in service is a longstanding and universal theme. In the Christian tradition, Jesus gave up His position in heaven to become a servant whose sacrifice was offered for salvation. In His life story of giving we learn that He was a learning and a listening learner. Luke 2:52 In this passage we see that Jesus grew physically, spiritually, mentally and relationally. Jesus became more and more fit to lead through growing and giving.

In honoring this time of giving and serving one another, I wanted to share some thoughts that bring together giving and the growing theme and mantra of having and holding onto a “Growth mindset”. I hope this is something that can help all of us and honor those around us who give directly and indirectly each and every day.

I believe that the best learning is motivated with a mindset of giving.

“What can I learn in order to give to others?” What can I learn from and for everyone I serve?

Level 5 Leadership by Jim Collin’s and Adam Grant’s The Giver discuss similar attributes of giving. I hope you will check these out after reading through my article.

The Giver by Adam Grant

The Level 5 Leader by Jim Collin’s

For leaders, listening and learning with empathy and equity is the primary function of a Giving growth mindset. This kind of openness to learn often means unlearning first. I have learned and continue to learn so much from my own children, from listening to other people’s perspectives and pains, from watching and reading global news and drawing from the experiences and expressions of people who occupy a different timezone, culture, context and domain than me. Often in these encounters I find something to unlearn.

This unlearning and divesting oneself of bias makes room for transforming ideologies and institutionalization. Facts, objective reality and the ability to listen to and learn from all levels of internal and external input makes for shifts, adaptations and agile, incremental transformation.

From within an internal organization, the partnership chain and the external client ecosystem must be aligned with the marketplace forces and factors determining progress. This interconnected complexity is best understood by giving growth mindset leaders.

Growth mindset leaders are listening learners.

Integrative, holistic strategy and synthesis of complex, global interdependence demands new levels of listening. Social change and consumer marketplace demands necessitate empathy and empathic listening as a fundamental and foundational skill. Solutions, services and sales are driven and determined by the function of a growth mindset that is motivated to give. Listening to trends, the client and employee experience is a critical aspect of a giving growth minded leader. Solutions, services and sales are driven and determined by the function of a growth minded giver.

Solutions, services and sales are driven and determined by the function of a growth minded giver.

Open exploration of new ideas, inputs and shifting trends and times externally, can only disrupt crystallized institutionalized bureaucracy with a leadership team who leads by example with a Giving growth mindset.

It’s not about individuals with growth mindsets, self determined to their own individual destinies, its about level 5 leadership at the top that builds a culture of giving growth mindset leaders and contributors.

Transformation metrics over mantras must drive and determine if the right people are on the bus, to borrow the language from Collin’s Good to Great. And the right people on the bus are organization’s led by level five giving growth mindset leaders and growth mindset givers.