Want to Teach Your Team How to Develop a Growth Mindset? A Lesson in Direct Sales Leadership

Imaging what you could do if you knew the secret behind how to develop a growth mindset?

I don't just mean having a growth mindset – I mean being able to bottle it up and sell it.

Who would you sell it to first?

If you're like most people, you'll start by selling it to your team…only you won't charge for it.

Ask anyone about the secret to success and they'll tell you: having a growth mindset. But there's a difference between knowing this information and knowing how to pass it on to your team members.

Which is where a lot of team leaders fall a bit short. They tend to think of certain pillars, such as leading by example or offering up training and coaching. But rarely do these things translate to growth mindset.

And that's because the transformation from a fixed mindset over to a growth mindset doesn't happen at the macro level: from being told. The true transformation to growth mindset happens at the micro level: through every day actions and habits.

And, as we all know, you can't control someone else's actions and habits.

Teach your Team How to Develop a Growth Mindset in Three Easy Steps

1. Intentionally seek out perspectives and ideas that differ from your own.

Having a growth mindset means holding on to the belief that you can always learn more. And the best way to demonstrate that for your team is by bringing in other thought leaders and experts — especially those who have a different perspective than you do.

It's also a great way to promote thought diversity in your group, which will promote a more open atmosphere and ensure a higher level of inclusion for your team members. Team members who feel heard and understood and more likely to continue performing.

So, if you are seeing awesome success on Facebook, bring in someone who's better than you on Instagram. Or Pinterest. If you think groups are the way to go, then ask someone to talk about Business Pages.

By exposing your team members to different perspectives and opinions, you empower them to make their own strategy decisions and help foster an environment that accepts and encourages thought diversity.

2. Actively seek out feedback from your team members.

By asking for feedback, you as a leader are starting a conversation with your team members. This simple action conveys the message that you are willing to learn and grow about your skills as a leader (rather than using your position as a leader to judge or push your team members).

People learn in different ways, but they may not always know how to ask you about changing your training materials or formatting to help them more. So, by asking for their feedback regarding your group, team culture, and available training, and then applying it as necessary, you demonstrate your willingness to continue growing as a leader for your team.

And that's something every team member will appreciate, even if they don't know how to express it.

3. Think about the way you set up your team goals.

Performance-based goals, such as sales, are great. In fact, they're necessary, and they're something we talk about all the time in the Suite.

However, performance-based goals are usually attached to personal abilities – things that you're already good at. There's very little room for growth when you're following these goals.

Think about a growth-focused goal for you and your team: do you want to learn a new skill? A growth-focused goal will help you do that.

Then, announce this goal to your team. This will introduce the idea of making personal and professional development a goal to work toward in addition to striving to meet those sales and sponsoring goals.

Helping your team members to adopt a growth mindset doesn't have to be hard.

It can be as easy as inviting them to take part in your own development and learning process.

Taking on the role of being a direct sales leader and building a team means providing those team members with the best tools and resources you can to help them succeed. And, after all, if they succeed you succeed, too (in more ways than one!). Unfortunately, one of the biggest tools you need in direct sales, the growth mindset, isn't something you can just teach. It takes practice and commitment to adopt this mindset over time.

But luckily, now you have the steps to help give your team a real head start.

What is Key to Maintaining a Growth Mindset?

You can maintain a growth mindset by keeping an open mind to new experiences, being mindful of your words with you speak and type to people, maintaining a good attitude towards life, and celebrating your teams' successes. While feedback is important you have to choose your words carefully, especially online so they're not taken out of context.

#EmpowerSocial