Overcoming Plateaus: How a Growth Mindset Catapults You to New Heights
In their book, “The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age,” Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha, and Chris Yeh talk about the need for companies to extend career plans for all employees to avoid plateau effects:
“Companies have long devoted resources to crafting personalized roles and career paths for their stars. Companies such as General Electric rotate promising young executives through assignments to help them gain experience in different functions and markets.
Yet it is possible–indeed, necessary–to extend this personalized approach to all employees using the tour of duty framework. As the world becomes less stable, you can’t rely on a few stars at the top to provide the necessary adaptability.”
The Peter Principle states that if you perform well in your job, you will likely be promoted to the next level of your organization’s hierarchy. You will continue to rise the ladder until you reach the point where you can no longer perform well. Given that not all employees are treated as star layers, are there critical strategies for surpassing plateaus that can hinder personal and professional progress?
This is vital for any individual or organization that has experienced the stagnation that comes with reaching a plateau.
Nowadays — and even more so in a VUCA world — one’s trajectory often encounters a plateau — a stage where growth and improvement seem to stagnate. It’s a phase characterized by flat lines on the life graph, where each day seems to mirror the last, and progress is imperceptible. However, it is not an impasse but rather an inflection point, and by embracing a growth mindset, one can use it as a springboard to reach new heights.
Embracing Change for Continuous Improvement
A growth mindset — the shared belief that abilities and intelligence do change and grow — is fundamental to overcoming plateaus. This mindset thrives on challenges and sees failures not as evidence of limited abilities but as a satisfying springboard for development and stretching our existing capabilities.
For professionals, this might mean embracing new technologies or innovative business strategies that disrupt the status quo. In personal life, it could involve adopting new habits or learning opportunities that push you out of your comfort zone. The key is to view each plateau not as a barrier but as a welcome challenge to innovate and improve.
Reed Hastings, the co-founder of Netflix, offers a stellar example of embracing change. Netflix began as a DVD rental service, where the company reached a plateau. They tried to sell Netflix to their archi-competitor, Blockbuster, and failed. But Hastings saw that as an opportunity by foreseeing the potential of streaming media. Despite the company’s success in the DVD market, he pivoted the business model towards streaming, facing significant skepticism. The move was risky, considering the company’s established success, but this embrace of technology and foresight led to Netflix becoming one of the dominant forces in entertainment today.
Strategic Risks and Experimentation
Taking calculated risks is an integral part of breaking through a plateau. It requires a departure from the ‘tried and true’ to the ‘new and potentially more effective.’ This might involve diversifying your product line, experimenting with new marketing channels, or investing in professional development opportunities that promise to expand your capabilities and understanding.
Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, shocked the world when he retired from basketball to play professional baseball. After a less-than-stellar baseball career, he returned to basketball and led the Chicago Bulls to three more NBA championships. Jordan’s foray into baseball, while seen as a failure by many, was embraced by Jordan as a challenge and a way to grow. The lessons he learned from the discipline and training in baseball contributed to his later success back in basketball.
Embrace unlearning
Unlearning is a transformative process pivotal in powering new learning and growth. In a VUCA world, where yesterday’s solutions may become today’s problems, unlearning outdated practices, beliefs, and biases is as important as acquiring new knowledge. Unlearning involves challenging and letting go of old paradigms that no longer serve us, creating space for innovative ideas and approaches to take root. It’s about questioning the status quo and being willing to part with comfortable but limiting habits of thought. This cognitive flexibility allows us to adapt to new situations more fluidly, embrace emerging trends, and respond to challenges with a fresh perspective. In essence, unlearning sets the stage for a more robust and dynamic form of learning, one that is continuous and responsive to the evolving demands of our personal and professional lives. Through unlearning, we discard the superfluous, sharpen our focus on what’s truly relevant, and enhance our ability to learn with agility and depth.
Continuous Learning and Adaptability
A growth mindset is synonymous with lifelong learning. The willingness to learn from mentors, peers, and competitors can provide the knowledge and inspiration to move past a plateau. Adaptability goes hand-in-hand with this learning, as it requires one to be flexible in their strategies and approaches.
Regular feedback is crucial for improvement. By establishing effective feedback loops with customers, employees and self-reflection, one can gain valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t, allowing for constant refinement of strategies and approaches.
When Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft in 2014, he inherited a tech giant perceived as lagging behind its competitors. Nadella committed to a culture shift towards continuous learning and innovation. He encouraged the company to shift focus from strictly Windows-based products to cloud computing and AI, embracing a broader perspective that included learning from competitors like Amazon and Google. Under his leadership, Microsoft rejuvenated its product line, improved customer satisfaction, and increased its market value, illustrating the power of adaptability and continuous learning.
When Tim Cook took over as CEO of Apple after Steve Jobs, many were skeptical that he could maintain the company’s explosive growth. Cook, however, demonstrated a commitment to continuous learning and adaptability, focusing on expanding Apple’s product ecosystem and entering new markets like China. Under his leadership, Apple has continued to innovate while also improving its supply chain and broadening its product portfolio with the introduction of the Apple Watch and services like Apple Pay and Apple Music. This diversification and willingness to explore new markets testify to Cook’s adaptability and learning-oriented leadership.
Conclusion
Plateaus are an inevitable part of the growth cycle, but they are not the end. With a growth mindset, individuals and businesses can adopt strategies that turn these plateaus into launchpads for innovation and new successes. Embracing change, taking strategic risks, harnessing data, committing to continuous learning, and leveraging feedback are the tools that will dismantle the barriers and open the skies to limitless possibilities.
