Last week, CallFire’s CRO kicked off his series of mentorship talks with a group of Mission of Hope Haiti interns. This week, Luke Wilson returned with our Vice President of Finance, Janice McNair to teach the young leaders about growth versus fixed mindset. After talking about the basic concept, they gave personal examples about facing challenges and finding balance. It turns out that having a growth mindset can provide a template for growth and achievement that a fixed mindset doesn’t allow for.

What is a Fixed Mindset?

Luke explained that a fixed mindset frames your abilities, talents, and intelligence as fixed traits – i.e. something you can’t change or improve. Because you feel powerless to make improvements, you spend your time trying to look good and avoid revealing your inherent weaknesses.

What is a Growth Mindset?

According to Luke, a growth mindset allows you to believe that even their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. Brains and talent are just the starting point. This mindset creates the resilience essential for accomplishing great things.

Finding Balance

In telling her own life story, Janice described how a growth mindset can help you get through tough times. Challenges and setbacks are not proof of weakness, as they would be in the fixed mindset. Instead they are opportunities to grow and improve.

What’s Your Mindset?

As you think about yourself, your business, and what you can achieve, consider your mindset. Do you see things as fixed or do you see possibilities? Are setbacks failures or chances to grow? It doesn’t cost anything to change your mindset and find opportunities to develop in every aspect of your life!

Learning from Students

Reflecting on the experience of meeting and speaking with the interns, Janice said, "It was incredible to meet a group of passionate youth focused on making the world a better place. The level of engagement and personal sacrifice is also inspiring. What I enjoyed most about the group was the level of self awareness and commitment to personal growth - critical skills for a successful career."

Stay tuned next week for more leadership tips and reflections from Luke and team!