Fixed v Growth - All parents should read this
The moment we believe that success is determined by an ingrained level of ability, we will be brittle in the face of adversity. That is a psychological trap that it is easy to fall into.
When Harry Redknapp was at Spurs we had what should have been an unassailable lead to finish in the top four and qualify for the UEFA Champions League but we bottled it, we were brittle in the face of adversity.
Some people see intelligence or abilities as fixed — fixed mindset, while others see them as qualities that can be developed — a growth mindset. Which mindset you have determines behavour and results
Stanford professor Carol Dweck and Dr. Lisa Blackwell conducted a two-year survey with several
hundred seventh grade students, determining with them whether they thought they could improve their intelligence.
Results showed that the students with a growth mindset increased their grades over time, while those with the fixed mindset did not. The gap in performance therefore just widens and widens over time. Other studies have shown similar effects for our mindset about other abilities like problem solving, playing sports and managing people.
If you apply that to footballers then those with a growth mindset are going to become better players over time than those with a fixed mindset. The game is littered with players who get to a level and that's it, they no longer improve, they don't adapt to a new system, they just want to do what they know.
The key to success is not simply effort or focus or hard work, but it is the growth mindset that creates those attributes. The mindset itself is critical. Anyone with a passion to succeed will outdo anyone without passion. We are passionate about Tottenham and we want players who are passionate about having success with Tottenham. We don't want fake badge kissers or shirt pullers pretending passion, the players have to have it or they won't improve and thus the club won't improve.
This is why it's essential Paul Mitchell uses mental analysis as part of his player assessments before recommending them to Mauricio Pochettino. It's not his job to determine that, it's the experts.
If you want to change your own ability to think and perform, you can, neuroscience shows us our brain is malleable. Kevin Keegan became European Footballer of the Year, he wasn't naturally talented, he had to work furiously hard to get to where he wanted to be and to keep improving. He had the growth mindset we need at Tottenham. I'm too lazy to learn English, does that sound like a growth mindset to you?
A growth mindset can take players to another level in just the same way it did for Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. They are not where they are simply because of natural ability. Graeme Souness frequently tells us, whenever he see Emmanuel Adebayor play, that he has everything and can be unplayable when he wants to be, he just doesn't want to be very often.
The difference between the two approaches sees them miles apart in performance and achievement, which type would you have the club sign and should the club determine which type they are before signing a player? The answer has to be a categorical yes, so shouldn't we invest the time, effort and resources to ensuring we are the very best we can be at doing so? Again the answer has to be yes, but we don't or we are not very successful at it if we do.
Brain scans show how the two mindsets receive information and thus the best way for a coach to improve a players performance. The fixed mindset becomes most active when receiving information about how they performed while the growth mindset people when they receive information about what they could do better next time.
You see it in supporters as well suggesting a player played well because his passing statistic was 93% while other supporters will point out that the majority were sideways and backwards and didn't have a positive affect on the game. Fixed mindset equals grades, growth mindset, stuff the grades, what can I do better, how do people see me as opposed to how can I improve. Would you say we have at Spurs some players who are more concerned with how they are perceived by the fans than how they can improve their game? Football is full of egos, fine if you back it up with continual improvement, not if you don't.
People with a fixed mindset see effort as a bad thing, that can certainly be applied to a group of players at Tottenham, they didn't want the high-energy high-pressing style. A growth mindset sees the opportunity in it, a chance to grow and improve.
When people with a fixed mindset hit a setback or failure, they tend to conclude that they are incapable, so to protect their ego, they lose interest or withdraw and that we see as a lack of motivation. I don't need to name names but those players stand out. A growth mindset seeks a way to learn and grow from it, to have a way around it next time.
In another study Dr. Dweck did, this time with Dr. Claudia Mueller, was with children and a set of puzzles. Upon completion the children were given one of two verbal praises. One was designed for a fixed mindset, "Wow, that’s a really good score, you must be smart at this” and one for a growth mindset, “Wow, that's a really good score. You must have tried really hard.”
They were then asked which puzzle they would like next, an easy one or a harder one. The majority of the children given the fixed answer mindset chose the easy one, the majority given the growth mindset answer chose the harder one. However the children with the easier puzzle who had been given a fixed mindset answer did significantly worse with that puzzle whereas you guessed it, the growth mindset group with the harder puzzles did better than they originally had.
If any of you have children I'll add this for you. They were all then given a lot harder puzzle. Guess which group lied about their scores 3 times as much to try to hide their failure. I think you know the answer so when you praise your children think how best to do it in future, you'll be doing them a favour.
We see players all the time wanting to blame the referee or a team-mate if something goes wrong, not taking responsibility for their own actions. Others will jump up off the floor and get on with the game. It's pretty obvious which group the two fall into.
Jan Vertonghen spoke about working with Mauricio Pochettino and how he would give plenty of personal time showing areas that could be improved. That demonstrates Pochettino with a growth mindset and encouraging the same in others. A fixed mindset will hear but not improve in the manner a growth mindset would receiving the same information, it's important therefore to have players with growth mindsets, what I have frequently referred to as a winning mentality.
As I have said before mindsets can be changed, Pochettino is working towards that and players are starting to buy into what he is trying to do at the club. He frequently talks about changing the players mentality, the rewards in being able to do so await us.
Science plays an increasing role in sport and recognising an area where we can steal a march of the competition by becoming world leaders in the field, within the professional football industry, is a cheap way to take this club to where we want it to be.
When Harry Redknapp was at Spurs we had what should have been an unassailable lead to finish in the top four and qualify for the UEFA Champions League but we bottled it, we were brittle in the face of adversity.
Some people see intelligence or abilities as fixed — fixed mindset, while others see them as qualities that can be developed — a growth mindset. Which mindset you have determines behavour and results
Stanford professor Carol Dweck and Dr. Lisa Blackwell conducted a two-year survey with several
hundred seventh grade students, determining with them whether they thought they could improve their intelligence.
Results showed that the students with a growth mindset increased their grades over time, while those with the fixed mindset did not. The gap in performance therefore just widens and widens over time. Other studies have shown similar effects for our mindset about other abilities like problem solving, playing sports and managing people.
If you apply that to footballers then those with a growth mindset are going to become better players over time than those with a fixed mindset. The game is littered with players who get to a level and that's it, they no longer improve, they don't adapt to a new system, they just want to do what they know.
The key to success is not simply effort or focus or hard work, but it is the growth mindset that creates those attributes. The mindset itself is critical. Anyone with a passion to succeed will outdo anyone without passion. We are passionate about Tottenham and we want players who are passionate about having success with Tottenham. We don't want fake badge kissers or shirt pullers pretending passion, the players have to have it or they won't improve and thus the club won't improve.
This is why it's essential Paul Mitchell uses mental analysis as part of his player assessments before recommending them to Mauricio Pochettino. It's not his job to determine that, it's the experts.
If you want to change your own ability to think and perform, you can, neuroscience shows us our brain is malleable. Kevin Keegan became European Footballer of the Year, he wasn't naturally talented, he had to work furiously hard to get to where he wanted to be and to keep improving. He had the growth mindset we need at Tottenham. I'm too lazy to learn English, does that sound like a growth mindset to you?
A growth mindset can take players to another level in just the same way it did for Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. They are not where they are simply because of natural ability. Graeme Souness frequently tells us, whenever he see Emmanuel Adebayor play, that he has everything and can be unplayable when he wants to be, he just doesn't want to be very often.
The difference between the two approaches sees them miles apart in performance and achievement, which type would you have the club sign and should the club determine which type they are before signing a player? The answer has to be a categorical yes, so shouldn't we invest the time, effort and resources to ensuring we are the very best we can be at doing so? Again the answer has to be yes, but we don't or we are not very successful at it if we do.
Brain scans show how the two mindsets receive information and thus the best way for a coach to improve a players performance. The fixed mindset becomes most active when receiving information about how they performed while the growth mindset people when they receive information about what they could do better next time.
You see it in supporters as well suggesting a player played well because his passing statistic was 93% while other supporters will point out that the majority were sideways and backwards and didn't have a positive affect on the game. Fixed mindset equals grades, growth mindset, stuff the grades, what can I do better, how do people see me as opposed to how can I improve. Would you say we have at Spurs some players who are more concerned with how they are perceived by the fans than how they can improve their game? Football is full of egos, fine if you back it up with continual improvement, not if you don't.
People with a fixed mindset see effort as a bad thing, that can certainly be applied to a group of players at Tottenham, they didn't want the high-energy high-pressing style. A growth mindset sees the opportunity in it, a chance to grow and improve.
When people with a fixed mindset hit a setback or failure, they tend to conclude that they are incapable, so to protect their ego, they lose interest or withdraw and that we see as a lack of motivation. I don't need to name names but those players stand out. A growth mindset seeks a way to learn and grow from it, to have a way around it next time.
In another study Dr. Dweck did, this time with Dr. Claudia Mueller, was with children and a set of puzzles. Upon completion the children were given one of two verbal praises. One was designed for a fixed mindset, "Wow, that’s a really good score, you must be smart at this” and one for a growth mindset, “Wow, that's a really good score. You must have tried really hard.”
They were then asked which puzzle they would like next, an easy one or a harder one. The majority of the children given the fixed answer mindset chose the easy one, the majority given the growth mindset answer chose the harder one. However the children with the easier puzzle who had been given a fixed mindset answer did significantly worse with that puzzle whereas you guessed it, the growth mindset group with the harder puzzles did better than they originally had.
If any of you have children I'll add this for you. They were all then given a lot harder puzzle. Guess which group lied about their scores 3 times as much to try to hide their failure. I think you know the answer so when you praise your children think how best to do it in future, you'll be doing them a favour.
We see players all the time wanting to blame the referee or a team-mate if something goes wrong, not taking responsibility for their own actions. Others will jump up off the floor and get on with the game. It's pretty obvious which group the two fall into.
Jan Vertonghen spoke about working with Mauricio Pochettino and how he would give plenty of personal time showing areas that could be improved. That demonstrates Pochettino with a growth mindset and encouraging the same in others. A fixed mindset will hear but not improve in the manner a growth mindset would receiving the same information, it's important therefore to have players with growth mindsets, what I have frequently referred to as a winning mentality.
As I have said before mindsets can be changed, Pochettino is working towards that and players are starting to buy into what he is trying to do at the club. He frequently talks about changing the players mentality, the rewards in being able to do so await us.
Science plays an increasing role in sport and recognising an area where we can steal a march of the competition by becoming world leaders in the field, within the professional football industry, is a cheap way to take this club to where we want it to be.
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