Growth mindset in the boardroom: why it matters now

11 Dec

In governance circles, “growth mindset” can sound like something out of a leadership workshop rather than a board agenda. In reality, it goes to the heart of how boards think, decide and learn. For us at Elevate, a growth mindset in the boardroom is not about uncritical positivity. It is about directors seeing themselves as active learners in a changing context, rather than guardians of a fixed way of doing things.

From “we already know” to “what else do we need to understand?”

Boards carry legal and fiduciary responsibilities. It is natural for directors to draw heavily on their experience. The risk is that experience can harden into certainty.

A growth mindset invites a different stance. Instead of assuming “we have seen this before”, directors ask:

What has changed in the operating environment
Whose perspective is missing from this conversation
What data or insight would challenge our current view

This strengthens decisiveness by grounding decisions in a fuller picture rather than relying on comfortable assumptions. The AICD’s recent work on why board directors need a growth mindset frames this as a strategic imperative for boards that want to be agile and future-ready, and notes that curiosity and continuous learning are key to reducing groupthink.

Reducing groupthink and broadening perspective

Groupthink rarely arrives with a label. It shows up as quick agreement, narrow debate and quiet discomfort that never quite makes it to the table. Boards that work from a growth mindset make it easier to disrupt groupthink by:

Normalising challenge and constructive dissent
Rotating who speaks first
Inviting quieter voices in, including management below the C-suite
Asking “what would it take for us to change our mind”

These practices allow boards to surface risks earlier, explore more options and avoid repeating past mistakes simply because “this is how we do things here”.

Linking growth mindset to performance

A growth mindset is sometimes framed as a purely individual trait. In a governance context, it has clear performance implications.

Boards that stay curious and outward looking are more likely to:

Spot emerging trends that will affect strategy and risk
Connect customer and staff insights to real shifts in products, services and culture
Support executives to experiment and learn, rather than only rewarding short-term certainty

Recent AICD commentary on how growth-mindset leadership drives productivity highlights research linking a growth mindset to higher performance and revenue growth, particularly when leaders remain focused on learning, innovation, and customer value.

This does not mean lowering standards. It means holding high expectations while recognising that learning, iteration and occasional missteps are part of long-term value creation.

Stories from practice

Real examples help bring this to life and for individuals and boards to put the growth minset in perspective

Microsoft’s “learn it all” culture shift

When Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft in 2014, he inherited an organisation described as siloed, internally competitive and slow to adapt. Nadella openly rejected a “know it all” culture and called for a transformation to a “learn it all” culture, explicitly using growth mindset language to guide behaviour.

Under his leadership, Microsoft invested in collaboration, continuous learning and psychological safety, while linking these cultural shifts to innovation, cloud transformation and AI. By 2023, Microsoft’s market value had increased almost tenfold compared with when Nadella took the role, demonstrating that a growth mindset is not just a personal philosophy but a lever for organisational performance.

An Australian example of learning-focused leadership

Closer to home, AICD’s profile of Australian leaders driving innovation highlights a managing partner who championed a dedicated “knowledge group” inside their firm. This group was tasked with keeping the organisation’s learning program current, particularly in rapidly evolving areas such as technology and AI. By actively engaging in this learning, the leader reports improved innovation, better operational decisions and a stronger growth mindset across the firm.

It is a simple illustration of a director-level leader who does not outsource learning; instead, they model it.

Practical questions for boards

Directors who wish to cultivate a growth mindset can start with a few simple questions at the board and committee level:

“What have we genuinely learned as a board this year, and where has that shifted our decisions or behaviour?”
“Where might we be leaning too heavily on ‘we’ve always done it this way’?”
“How do we react when evidence challenges a story we’re attached to?”
“What are we signalling to management about learning, experimentation and safe challenge?”

Growth mindset in the boardroom is less about adopting new language and more about everyday habits of inquiry, reflection and adjustment. In an environment of ongoing complexity, those habits are quickly becoming a core part of good governance.