Continuous change demands a mindset shift

Improving organisational agility and practising adaptation to change can better prepare a business for unpredictable scenarios. A growth mindset is almost the same thing, but at an individual level. And it’s key to shaking off the paralysis that can arise when businesses are overwhelmed by too much change, or the stagnation that can come from too little. Leaders who can adopt a growth mindset will find it shapes their management style, their decision-making process, and their overall success.

But an uncertain business context can make it difficult to find the positives; our research reveals that 63% of board executives find that the challenging economic outlook is obstructing a growth mindset amongst leaders.

As legal leaders with oversight across the business, general counsel have significant influence in the development of a growth mindset within an organisation. This starts by adopting a growth mindset themselves, modelling this approach for their wider legal team, and operating in a way that encourages a culture of learning whilst supporting experimentation and development across the business.

In practice, this can mean:

• Supporting continuous learning for themselves and others. The ever-changing regulatory landscape means that continuous learning is second nature to most GCs. Sharing new knowledge – and showing this appetite for development to others – can be embedded in the way that legal and compliance training and feedback is delivered. GCs can also encourage growth mindset principles by engaging with (and contributing to) learning initiatives from across the organisation, including new learning platforms, mentoring schemes, formal training and cross-functional collaboration.
• Encouraging feedback. Seeing the constructive value in feedback from team members, peers, and stakeholders is key to a growth mindset – but it’s also about providing feedback and coaching to allow others to improve. General counsel’s senior business insight and extensive understanding of compliance, risk, and strategy puts them in a valuable position for teaching and advising colleagues from across the organisation.
• Embedding growth mindset in policies and procedures. The GC can work with relevant stakeholders to integrate growth mindset principles into the organisation's policies and procedures. For example, performance management systems can be designed to emphasize growth, development, and learning rather than focusing solely on results. General counsel can also advocate for policies that encourage experimentation, innovation, and calculated risk-taking, fostering a culture of growth and learning.
• Supporting innovation and collaboration. It’s not always recognised, but general counsel plays a critical role in an organisation’s ability to explore new ideas and take calculated risks. By keeping intellectual property policy up to date, collaboration infrastructure agile, and providing legal guidance on protecting (and commercialising) innovation, GCs help their teams navigate new territories, experiment with new concepts, and make informed decisions based on sound legal advice.