Cultures of Growth, Mary C. Murphy. Simon & Schuster (ISBN: 9781982172749) 2024.
Summary: Cultures of Growth applies the science of mindset, distinguishing fixed and growth mindsets, to the culture of organizations.
Carol Dweck introduced the science of mindset. She posited that individuals function out of one of two mindsets. Either we are functioning out of a fixed mindset or out of a growth mindset. The fixed mindset sees talent and intelligence as fixed or predetermined. That is, you’ve got them or you don’t. The growth mindset emphasizes our capacity to to learn and develop our intelligence and talents.
Mary C. Murphy, one of Carol’s students wondered if this could apply to organizational cultures as well. In other words, what’s happening outside a person may be just as important as what’s happening between their ears. In organizations, the contrast is between cultures of genius, where the object is to recruit geniuses or to try to look like geniuses, versus cultures of growth, offering opportunities of growth for motivated and hard working individuals. One culture tends to be competitive, the other, collaborative.
Murphy has worked with a number of organizations, including Microsoft, in shifting organizational mindsets from cultures of genius to culture of growth. She begins by looking at five factors that signal which kind of organizational culture prevails. First, collaboration measures how well people work together rather than competitively. Second, innovation, looks at whether companies encourage employees to think big versus being cautious and narrow in focus. Third, risk-taking and resilience considers whether employees can take moonshots and are offered chances to learn from failure or whether the fear of failure constrains their efforts. Fourth, integrity and ethical behavior looks at whether employees are encouraged, no matter what, to do the right thing. Or does succeeding require cutting corners? Finally, diversity, equity, and inclusion measures how well organizations recruit and support a broad spectrum of talent.
Murphy then turns to mindset triggers, the situations that can shift people into fixed or growth mindsets. The first of these is evaluative situations, where we either feel we must defend our performance or can learn and develop from it. Next are the high effort situations, where a new product must roll out on tight deadlines. Fixed mindsets shy from such situations, fearing failure, while growth oriented organizations stress the opportunities for advance. A third trigger is how critical feedback is implemented and received. Are people shunted aside when falling short or offered chances to grow and improve? Finally, how do we handle the success of others? In growth cultures this triggers inspiration rather than despair.
What makes this book is the combination of clear explanations and illustrative examples from a variety of business sectors. I’d love to see Murphy apply this to the non-profit sector, particularly religious non-profits. I also wonder how organizational growth affects mindset. Start-ups seem highly growth and learning oriented. I’ve also watched organizations grow more fixed and compliance-oriented as they grow. Yet Murphy has worked with large organizations. It would be interesting to learn more about how they made the transition to growth mindsets, or preserved them.
Organizational culture is such an important part of worker satisfaction. Murphy’s work helpfully addresses a key aspect. It just stands to reason that people want opportunities to grow and give their best when these exist. This is a valuable resource for anyone who leads a work team or larger units within an organization.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from the publisher via LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program.