Mindset
Worksheet

MINDSET & GROWTH TOOLS

Compare your current operating assumptions to a growth-oriented
alternative, across five dimensions.

What This Worksheet Reveals

Most leaders can articulate a growth mindset in the abstract. Fewer have mapped where their actual operating assumptions sit on that spectrum. This worksheet asks you to do that comparison with specificity: not "do you have a growth mindset?" but "in the face of challenges, what do you actually think and do, compared to what a growth orientation would produce?"

The five dimensions - Challenges, Desires, Skills, Obstacles, Criticism - are the areas where the gap between fixed and growth responses tends to be most consequential in leadership. Completing both columns honestly produces a map of where you're operating closer to one end than the other, which is more useful than a general verdict.

How to Use This Worksheet

Write the Current Mindset column first, without editing. What do you actually do and think in each area, not what you intend to do? The column should describe behavior and belief, not aspiration.
Write the Growth Mindset column as a concrete alternative. Not "be more open" - that's a state. "Ask one clarifying question before forming a view" describes behavior. Make each entry specific enough that you'd know if you were doing it.
Look for the dimensions with the widest gap. After completing both columns, the rows where the distance between Current and Growth is largest are usually the most productive starting points for coaching work.
Notice which row was hardest to complete honestly. Difficulty is often a signal of where the most protected assumptions live.
Bring the highest-gap rows to your next session. The worksheet is a diagnostic. Your coach can help you examine the assumptions in those rows and identify where behavior change would have the most leverage.