6 Must Read Growth Mindset Books For People Managers

As a people manager, having a growth mindset is crucial for success in managing and developing your team. A growth mindset is the belief that your essential qualities and abilities are not fixed traits but can be developed through effort, learning, and perseverance. It is about embracing challenges, seeking feedback, and seeing failure as an opportunity to learn and grow.

In this blog, we will explore six must-read growth mindset books for people managers. These books provide valuable insights, strategies, and real-life examples of how to cultivate a growth mindset in yourself and your team. Understanding the power of a growth mindset and implementing its principles can create a positive and empowering work environment that fosters personal and professional growth.

Essential Growth Mindset Books for People Managers

Developing a growth mindset as a manager is a complex process. It’s about taking the right actions with the right intent to keep you going, even when trouble strikes much more than successes. To simplify this process, we have collated a list of the top 6 growth mindset books managers must read. It’s not a complete list by any means, nor does it prepare you to apply a growth mindset everywhere and anywhere – it just does exactly what you need: hold your hand through the initial steps of building a growth mindset.

Exploring the work of renowned authors who have extensively studied human motivation and the power of a growth mindset sets on this journey. These books provide valuable insights, strategies, and real-life examples of how to cultivate a growth mindset in yourself and your team.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck is among the top growth mindset books that explores the power of our beliefs and how they impact our ability to improve. Dweck, a renowned psychologist and researcher at Stanford University, delves into the concept of a growth mindset and its implications for personal and professional success.

In this book, Dweck demonstrates that our fixed or growth-oriented mindset significantly influences our behavior, motivation, and success. She presents compelling research and real-life examples to illustrate the transformative power of adopting a growth mindset. By reading “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” you can better understand the fundamental principles behind a growth mindset and learn practical strategies for fostering a growth mindset culture within your teams.

In Drive, Daniel H. Pink explores the factors that truly motivate individuals, debunking traditional theories of motivation based solely on external rewards and punishments. Pink argues that intrinsic motivation, driven by autonomy, mastery, and purpose, is the key to personal and professional growth. By understanding the principles outlined in Drive, you can develop strategies to empower your team members, facilitate their professional development, and create a work culture that promotes personal growth and resilience.

In Grit, Angela Duckworth explores the concept of grit and its impact on achievement and success. Duckworth defines grit as a combination of passion and perseverance, the ability to face challenges and setbacks.

For people managers, developing grit in themselves and their team members is essential for long-term success and personal growth. By reading Grit, you can understand the importance of fostering a growth mindset that values effort, resilience, and hard work. This book is a must-read for people managers looking to inspire their teams and create a culture of continuous improvement and growth.

The Growth Mindset Coach by Annie Brock and Heather Hundley is a valuable resource for people managers looking to empower their team members to develop a growth mindset. While this growth mindset book is primarily aimed at teachers, its principles and strategies can be easily adapted to the workplace. 

By leveraging the strategies and resources outlined in The Growth Mindset Coach, you can create a structured approach to developing a growth mindset in your teams. This book is a practical guide for incorporating growth mindset principles into your daily interactions, feedback sessions, and team-building activities.

In Mindset Matters: A Counseling Curriculum to Help Students Understand How to Help Themselves Succeed with a Growth Mindset, Bryan Smith provides a comprehensive curriculum for counselors and educators to help students develop a growth mindset.

While this growth mindset book is targeted towards counselors, its principles and activities can be adapted by people managers to foster a growth mindset within their teams. By incorporating the strategies and activities outlined in Mindset Matters, you can create a supportive and growth-oriented environment where team members are encouraged to embrace challenges, learn from failures, and strive for continuous improvement. 

In Peak, Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool explore the concept of deliberate practice and its role in achieving expertise in any field. One of the foremost growth mindset books, it challenges the notion that exceptional talent is solely based on innate abilities and instead emphasizes the importance of deliberate practice and continuous learning.

For people managers, understanding the principles of deliberate practice helps guide their team members toward mastery in their respective roles. By implementing the techniques and strategies outlined in Peak, you can help your team members develop the necessary skills, knowledge, and mindset to excel in their careers.

Beyond Growth Mindset Books: Transforming Your Team with Growth Mindset Principles

Transforming your team with growth mindset principles involves creating a culture that values effort, embraces challenges, and fosters continuous learning and improvement. To start with, here are the basic principles of growth mindset that you should adopt:

• Embrace challenges: Encourage team members to step outside their comfort zones and take on new, challenging tasks. Provide support and guidance to help them navigate these challenges and learn from their experiences.
• Encourage experimentation and risk-taking: Create an environment where team members feel safe to experiment, take risks, and learn from failures. Celebrate and recognize efforts and growth, regardless of the outcome.
• Provide regular feedback and support: Offer constructive feedback and guidance to help team members develop their skills and abilities. Encourage open communication and a growth-oriented approach to feedback.
• Foster a learning mindset: Encourage team members to see setbacks as opportunities for growth and learning. Promote a mindset of continuous improvement and a willingness to seek new knowledge and skills.
• Provide development opportunities: Offer training, workshops, and professional development opportunities to support team members’ growth and development. Encourage them to take advantage of these opportunities and apply what they have learned in their work.

What’s more? We have a free resource for you: Grab Risely’s Growth Mindset Toolkit for Managers to access sample statements, templates, and much more for free. Curated by experts and celebrated by people managers – it’s the perfect buddy to enable your mindset shift.

More Free Resources on Growth Mindset

• 6 Best Growth Mindset Interview Questions (with Sample Answers)
• 11 Growth Mindset Reflection Questions For The Top Leaders
• 12 Best growth mindset podcasts to help you change your life

Conclusion

In essence, embracing a growth mindset is pivotal for people managers to foster continual learning, adaptation, and success within their teams. These recommended reads offer invaluable insights into cultivating a growth-oriented approach that empowers individuals to achieve their fullest potential. By understanding the foundations, implementing growth strategies, and overcoming challenges with a growth mindset, managers can create a culture of resilience, development, and innovation. As you embark on this journey of personal and professional growth, remember that every obstacle presents an opportunity for advancement and that fostering a growth mindset is critical to unlocking unlimited potential.