On Theresa May and mindset

You’ve got to hand it to Theresa May, coming on stage with a big smile and grooving, in her way, to “Dancing Queen” before diving into her closing conference speech.

Forget about politics for a minute and think about the woman. She was under huge psychological pressure. On everyone’s minds was the disaster of last year’s speech, when she was wracked with coughing fits as the stage set disintegrated. And she was mocked ruthlessly a month ago for her rhythm-challenged dancing in South Africa.

She ought to have been a wreck today, but instead she astonished everyone with a bit of self-deprecating fun, and then held the room’s attention with her energetic delivery.

It reminded me of the difference between a “fixed” mindset and a “growth” mindset, set out by the psychologist Carol Dweck.

People with a with a fixed mindset believe they were born with a finite amount of talent, which limits what they can do, while people with a growth mindset see their ability as something they can develop through effort and practice.

Aware of her limits, May could have gripped the lectern and grimly read the autocue to get to the end without disaster. Instead, she took a risk and pulled off an unexpected victory.

Mindset is a big part of successful delegation. More here: https://dsabuilding.co.uk/deep-and-deliberate-delegation/