Hey, it's Rachel Cook, your modern mentor. I'm the founder of Lead Above Noise, a firm helping

leaders activate performance and change without the burnout. We do leader activation bootcamps,

keynotes, and pulse checks to help build custom blueprints. Let us know what you need.

So, are you familiar with the concept of a growth mindset? It's a term that was coined by

Carol Dweck, and she defines it as the belief that one's intelligence and other personal

characteristics can grow and develop through effort and experience. It sounds a little wonky,

I know, but basically, having a growth mindset means you believe you can change and grow by changing your habits, by learning and listening and experimenting with new ways.

I first learned about this concept years ago, at both work and at my kid's school, like it was following me everywhere, because how we lead and how we parent can absolutely impact

whether we help someone develop a growth mindset or a fixed one.

What I most remember taking away as a mom is that in speaking to our kids, we wanted to focus

not on who they were, but on what they did.

So, for example, if my daughter aced a test, I was supposed to say not on who they were, but on what they did. So, for example, if my daughter

aced a test, I was supposed to say not something like, wow, you're really smart or what a

great student you are, but instead, I was supposed to say things like, I'm so proud of how

hard you studied, or I'd love that you went for extra help before that test. The focus should be on actions, not the fundamentals of who someone is, you know,

because actions ladder up to outcomes.

Often at work, we also strive to be a certain way.

It's something I hear a lot from clients, like even around innovation.

People and leaders just wishing that their teams or themselves

could just be more innovative. But innovation, I tell them, isn't a singular thing. It's an outcome of

habits and actions that we need to practice and cultivate. So today, if you're someone striving to be

or lead a team that is more innovative,

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