There was a ton of research that went into The Power of Professionalism. Yet sometimes you miss or overlook a reference that you later wish you would have been able to incorporate into your book. Carol Dweck’s Mindset is one such reference.
The premise of her book is that mindset has an enormous influence on achievement and success. Mindset, she believes, trumps talent when it comes to achievement and success. I couldn’t agree more and have made that very point in The Power of Professionalism.
Dweck believes that there are two primary mindsets—either growth oriented or fixed. Those with a growth oriented mind-set, she explains, actually expand their intelligence and, of course, their capacity to take on ever-increasing challenges. Those with a fixed mindset tend to believe that their intelligence is pre-determined –which thwarts them on any number of levels.
Praising children’s intelligence and ability, she argues, doesn’t foster self esteem and can be completely counter-productive in terms of buoying children up over the long term. She writes that ‘praising effort has a far greater impact’.
To me, Dweck’s book Mindset compliments The Power of Professionalism (and vice versa).
What’s common between the teaching within the two books?
***the emphasis on mindset (especially over talent) as a driver of trust and success.
***the emphasis of one’s view of themselves as a driving determinant in their life. (Note: In TPOP this is greatly emphasized, although less so in Dweck’s Mindset.)
*** the commonality (especially) between mind-set three (e.g. professionals know things get better when they get better) and Dweck’s growth mindset.
Are there differences?
***Maybe. I’m not sure if Dweck believes there are only two core mindsets or there are more than that. Of course, in TPOP we identify seven.
***In TPOP we identified mindsets (plural) that produced trust. In Dweck’s book her growth-oriented mindset (singular) was focused almost exclusively on ‘success’. That’s an important distinction…and thus a difference.
***In TPOP we strongly emphasize being something. Doing something was more the emphasis in Dweck’s Mindset book.
What’s unique about Dweck’s book when contrasted with The Power of Professionalism?
***the researched based arguments she gives to the ability to grow intelligence.
***the advice she gives to those wishing to instill a growth mindset (or for that matter mindset three) within others. Especially important–praise effort, not innate ability.
Beefs worth mentioning:
***Just one. For those that have a ‘success or achievement orientation’, Dweck’s book will be especially pertinent. A great many examples in the book were from people who certainly appear to have had that orientation. Yet there are many who don’t value ‘success’ as the be-all-end-all. For them I’m not convinced that all of what Dweck advances in this book holds true. For instance, Dweck advances the premise that those holding a fixed mind-set begrudge the success of others (page 245 in the paperback version). That’s not my experience at all.
For many ‘personal growth’ is simply not one of their top values. Many of these same people also hold what Dweck refers to as a fixed mind-set. I’ve met many such people in my lifetime. Yet the vast majority don’t begrudge the success of others.
I bring this up as an illustration that, to me, Dweck tends to generalize a bit in this book—the begrudging the success of others being one example.
Bottom line:
Despite some (manageable) differences, the two books complement one another nicely. Given different circumstances, I would have referenced Dweck’s Mindset book in my first edition. Chapter seven alone (how parents can instill a growth mindset in their kids) is worth the price of the book. For those achievement-oriented fans of TPOP that want complimentary ideas on how to develop a deeper, stronger mind-set three, this book will help you do that.