For managers who believe technological ability is fixed, employees who are not skilled in office technology are unlikely to develop these skills. Elizabeth Solberg, Katarzyna Adamska, Sut I Wong and Laura Traavik write that a manager’s fixed mindset affects their response to technological change and their efforts to help employees learn. The authors say that, since beliefs about ability operate outside of conscious awareness, managers must identify their own fundamental beliefs.
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, employees’ ability and willingness to use new workplace technologies are crucial for both individual and organisational success. Managers play a central role by providing their employees with the necessary support to learn and adopt these new work tools. However, managers’ beliefs about the nature of people’s technological ability, notably the extent to which they believe that it is fixed, could negatively impact the level of support they provide. This, in turn, can hinder employees’ engagement with new digital tools at work.
Fixed and growth beliefs
American psychologist Carol Dweck is known for her research on growth and fixed mindsets. She defines a growth mindset as a fundamental belief that ability is malleable and can be developed with time and training, like a muscle. On the other hand, a fixed mindset refers to the fundamental belief that ability is innate and unchangeable. Like eye colour, there is little to nothing that can be done to change it.
Dweck’s research reveals that people’s fundamental belief about ability (growth or fixed) shapes their way of responding to situations that emphasise ability or achievement.
People with a growth belief about ability embrace challenging tasks and situations. They are unafraid of difficulty and see spending effort on overcoming challenges as important for improvement. They are also more likely to seek out and accept help and other feedback, viewing this input as valuable for achieving their learning goals.
Conversely, those with a fixed belief about ability tend to shy away from challenging tasks and situations. Their avoidance of challenges stems from a fear of being labelled as incompetent if they fail. A fear of looking incompetent also keeps them from seeking out help from others. They are likely to turn away from help that is made available and to perceive critical feedback as a threat.
Beliefs about ability and development support
A person’s fundamental belief about ability can also shape how they perceive others’ learning potential. This, in turn, influences the efforts made in helping others to develop.
Studies have found that people with a growth belief about ability put more effort into instructing and helping others achieve their potential, while those with a fixed belief tended to offer minimal advice and support. Examining this phenomenon among managers, researchers found that those with a growth belief provided their employees with more and better quality coaching, compared to their fixed-belief counterparts.
Fixed beliefs and stereotypes
People with a fixed mindset tend to attribute fixed traits to others based on their social group. The result is that they tend to make stereotypical judgments.
Beliefs about technological ability
In our own research, we’ve applied Dweck’s mindset concept to study people’s responses to technological change in their workplace. We’ve found that some people are more inclined towards a growth mindset about technological ability. That is, they see technological ability as something malleable that can be significantly developed with effort and training. These people tend to be more motivated to engage with new workplace technology, because they see it as an opportunity for learning and development.
Others are more inclined towards a fixed belief about technological ability; that is, they believe technological ability is something innate that cannot be changed or improved. Having a fixed belief about technological ability goes hand-in-hand with a greater tendency to doubt one’s ability to learn and work with new workplace technology. The fear of appearing incompetent can also hinder engagement with new technology.
Impact on employees
In a Nordic banking institution, we found that managers with a fixed mindset about technological ability offered less developmental support to their employees during a period of technological change.
Given the prevalence of negative stereotypes about women’s technological ability, we also examined whether managers with a fixed belief about technological ability provided even less development support to their female employees. Indeed, we found that to be the case. (However, a cautious interpretation of this finding is needed, as the interaction term was just above the threshold for significance.)
In turn, employees working for fixed belief managers, and in particular female employees, engaged less fully in learning and working with the new technology. Thus, not only did these employees receive less developmental support; they also adapted less optimally to technological change.
Addressing fixed beliefs
As the research above demonstrates, a manager’s fundamental belief about the nature of technological ability can have an impact on their responses to technological change and their efforts to help employees engage and adapt in this context.
Often, beliefs about ability operate outside of conscious awareness. Identifying one’s own fundamental belief about technological ability is therefore a crucial first step towards future self-development.
Self-assessment
In our own research, a person’s agreement with three statements indicates a tendency towards a fixed belief about technological ability. Managers can use these statements (below) to assess their own fundamental beliefs about technological ability.
- A person’s level of technological ability is something basic about them, and there isn’t much that can be done to change it.
- Whether a person will be quick and skilled at using new technology is deeply ingrained in the kind of person they are. It cannot be changed very much.
- Although people can sometimes learn new things, you can’t really change people’s basic ability for adapting to new technology.
Self-development
If a manager finds that they have a fixed-belief tendency, then carrying out the development procedure below (adapted from an academic study) could be a helpful next step.
- Recognise the brain’s growth potential. It is now acknowledged that the brain can be developed, even in areas such as technological ability, throughout our lives. Scientists call this “neuroplasticity”. Learning about it is an important first step in developing a growth belief about ability.
- Induce cognitive dissonance. Identify a time you observed someone learn to work with technology in ways you did not anticipate they could. What could have been the implications of doubting this person’s capabilities? Is there a chance that you could have constrained this person from realising their potential?
- Advocate for growth. Identify someone you care about who is struggling to believe that his or her technological ability can be improved. Write an encouraging message to this person in which you outline, in your own words, the reasons and evidence that technological ability can be developed.
A meta-analytic review of research supports that this procedure positively influences a growth belief about ability. However, sustaining a growth belief over time may require repeating the procedure at regular intervals.
- This blog post is based on When managers believe technological ability is fixed, Human Resource Management Journal.
- The post represents the views of the author(s), not the position of LSE Business Review or the London School of Economics and Political Science.
- Featured image provided by Shutterstock
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