RECRUITERGRADUATE

Issue:

EIGHTY nine

April / May 2016

A Publication of AGR - the collective voice of graduate recruiters and developers

Your bi-monthly knowledge guide

RECRUITERGRADUATE

Your development trends: An exciting year ahead for development, according to Samuel Gordon, AGR.

Realising the elusive 70%:Josh Mackenzie, DBL, urges organisations to challenge their thoughts on learning.

Giving more to early talent:Lisa Saunders, Microsoft talks of ‘stretch projects’ and their benefit.

70:20:10 for apprenticesGSK uses the 70:20:10 approach to develop their apprentices to their full potential.

Plus

Plus

Lead

Art

icle Cultivating a growth

mindset:The best way to manage a graduate, explains Rachel Lyons, Fitch Learning.

DEVELOPMENT

SPECIAL

00 Graduate Recruiter | www.agr.org.uk

Cultivating a growth mindsetRachel Lyons, Management and Personal Development Tutor from Fitch Learning asks the question of how easy it is to manage graduates and how easy people think it is…

Fixed vs growth mindset

16 Graduate Recruiter | www.agr.org.uk

Managing new graduates, hey? How hard can that be? Ease them in gently,

show them how it is done and give a motivational speech once or twice a week. Job done.

Erm. Let me stop you there. Actually, subtle changes in your management style can result in dramatically different behaviours from your graduates. For example, you may encourage new graduates to be open to challenge and eager to learn. Or you may find yourself with a graduate who shies away from challenge, is desperate for approval and has a propensity to be dishonest!

“Say what?! I wouldn’t encourage lying in my team!”

Well no. I’m guessing you would not but you could unintentionally influence the mindset of your graduate.

“What do you mean mindset? I’m a line manager not a Zen master.”

True, but we can all impact the mindset of the people around us. Especially if we are in a position of power. By mindset we mean the attitude a person has and the beliefs that they use to interpret the world around them. So two graduates with different mindsets may interpret the same situation totally differently according to their mindset at the time.

According to Carol Dweck, a hugely influential Stanford psychologist, there are two key mindsets: a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.

Graduates with a fixed mindset will feel compelled to prove how smart they are at all costs. For them their abilities are set in stone. Talent and intellect are fixed. So

challenges are to be avoided, as they may expose their “deficiencies”. Graduates with a fixed mindset see things in black and white and are always asking themselves:

“Will I look smart or stupid?”

“Will I win or lose?”

“Will I get it right or wrong?”

“But being smart, winning and getting it right are good things! Aren’t they?”

They sure are. But when we adopt a fixed mindset these things come at the cost of learning, accepting challenges and even telling the truth. Interestingly, Carol Dweck’s research shows that those with a fixed mindset are more likely to lie in order to cover up our weaknesses!

“Right well…clearly that is not great. Tell me about the growth guys.”

Well, the other mindset is the growth mindset. This is where we view our talent and abilities as things you cultivate through hard work, challenge and feedback. This mindset creates a real passion for learning and self-improvement. Graduates with a growth mindset throw themselves into new challenges. They soak up feedback and embrace mistakes as opportunities to improve themselves.

“I want that for my graduates! How do I encourage a growth mindset then?”

Glad you asked.

Firstly, model a growth mindset yourself. Make it clear that you are a learner too. Share what you are learning. Reference how you have developed and grown

as a professional. No one enters the workplace as the complete package so be open about your journey.

Secondly, praise effort just as much as outcomes. Focus on highlighting the hard work put in during the process of a project just as much as the outcomes. This will cultivate grit and resilience in your graduate. If the results of the project fall below standard, use the word “yet”. Telling a graduate “This isn’t good enough” may push them into a fixed mindset whilst “this is not there yet…” is likely to motivate them to jump back in and improve.

Finally, create space for growth. By this, I mean provide opportunities where they are able to risk making mistakes that they can then learn from. We all learn best when we are teetering on the edge of what we already know, so set them up with tasks and projects that stretch them right to the edge of their comfort zone. If mistakes are made, use them as golden learning opportunities about how they can be successful in the future.

“So if mistakes are made I instruct them how to do better next time?”

You could do that. How do you feel about being “instructed”?

“I don’t love it. Unless I have specifically asked for advice. I much prefer to work things out for myself.”

Your graduates are likely the same. You can be helpful by asking the right questions to facilitate their thinking process.

“Like coaching?”

Exactly!

Managing millennials