How To Develop a Growth Mindset And Build Resilience In Leadership

If you’re struggling to inspire your team, grow as a leader, or bounce back from a setback, you might think there’s a problem with your leadership style. However, it could simply be a fixed mindset holding you back. Learning how to develop a growth mindset instead and build resilience in leadership could take you from second-guessing decisions to driving change with clarity

But how do you achieve this when all other tools have failed? Well, dear leader, you’ve come to the right place

This blog will explain what a growth mindset is, how it can fuel resilience, and the daily habits that can help you turn things around as a leader. The goal is to give you the confidence, adaptability, and attitude to achieve your goals and build healthier habits that stick.

What is a Growth Mindset?

A growth mindset is the belief that you can develop as an individual. Psychologist Carol Dweck came up with the term, and we’ve recently brought it to life from a leadership context in  .

A leader with a growth mindset believes success is measured by progress and persistence rather than innate talent or intelligence. Let’s call it an invisible driver of leadership decisions; it affects how you respond to feedback, handle failure, and lead through uncertainty. So, it’s a pretty nifty addition to your leadership toolbelt.

While it’s important, understanding a growth mindset is only half the battle. You need to know the other side of the coin: a fixed mindset and how it could be holding you back.

A Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset

Many leaders have what’s known as a fixed mindset instead of a growth mindset, which usually leads them to:

• Seek approval and avoid criticism
• Fear failure and avoid taking risks
• Stay in their comfort zone
• Believe that people’s abilities are static.

Sound familiar? That’s because most leaders think they have a growth mindset, but their behaviors tell a different story.

However, by analyzing your mindset through the lens of your actions, you can learn more about yourself, change to a more positive, developmental mindset, and build resilience as a leader.

Of course, resilience is important in most aspects of life, but let’s explore why resilience in leadership is essential.

Why is Resilience in Leadership Important?

We can talk about the different types of mindset all day long, but building resilience in leadership is crucial as it’s your ability to adapt to change and recover from setbacks. Most importantly, it’s how you lead through difficult times.

Resilient leaders are the most effective, and they have a few things in common:

• They stay composed under pressure.
• They’re optimistic but realistic.
• They welcome and take critique on board instead of resisting it.
• They love a bit of discomfort and never try to avoid it.

If you aren’t sure whether these apply to you (remember how we can often misidentify ourselves), ask yourself if you ever:

• Delay decisions?
• React emotionally to uncomfortable truths?
• Try to control every situation when you’re under pressure?

You’ve likely been guilty of at least one of the above in the past (we know we have…), so next time you find yourself drifting into one of these responses, consider this...

How to Develop a Growth Mindset in Leadership and Build Resilience

It’s a common misconception that becoming more resilient is only achievable through hardship. This might be true for some, but anybody can take active steps to develop a growth mindset that builds resilience.

All it takes is thinking differently and being consistent. In fact, it’s as simple as counting to . Who knew the road to better leadership as a CEO or executive started with kindergarten math? 

Let’s start with number one, and we promise, we won’t have you singing the alphabet next.

1.  Reframe failure

Failure isn’t always bad! Just ask any successful CEO or leader and they’ll tell you how important it can be for development.

There are a couple of terms we use to explain this called “right kind of wrong” and “wrong kind of wrong”. Let’s break them down.

• A right kind of wrong is when you try something new, fail, but take something away from the experience and learn from your mistakes.
• A wrong kind of wrong is where you make the same mistakes repeatedly, without learning or changing your approach.

Which one do you think is the better way to go about things? If you even consdered wrong kind of wrong, it might be time for a quiet cup of tea and a moment of reflection.

Reframing how you fail and bringing options to resolve issues rather than just pointing them out is key, and ultimately, it will help you make better decisions.

2.  Welcome critique

It might be painful to hear that you’re doing things wrong from your team or your peers, but a resilient, growth-minded leader will embrace critique and learn from it.

A fixed-mindset leader, on the other hand, feels like any negative critique threatens their identity or leadership capabilities. This holds them back, while those with a growth mindset see feedback as discovering more ways they can improve.

3.  Be bold!

Some of the best advice we’ve come across is a sign an old mentor had behind his desk that read: “Be bold. Boldness has magic and power all on its own”.

This is unintentionally one of the best growth mindset quotes we’ve come across, and it basically means that you can’t just sit on the sidelines or avoid making the big plays. Instead, you have to be bold, move forward, and course-correct if necessary.

It’s also important to understand that being bold doesn’t mean being perfect. Why? Because perfectionism can stall progress, while boldness creates it.

4.  Lean into discomfort

Growing and being comfortable rarely happen together because discomfort is where the real growth happens.

Think of it like piloting a plane. A pilot takes off knowing they’ll need to make hundreds of course corrections along the way. They don’t quite know what the exact route to their destination will be, but they set off anyway.

You are the pilot in this analogy, leading your team of passengers to the sunny uplands of progress. This will only be achieved by moving towards discomfort rather than away from it, so you can embrace difficulties, learn from them, and develop.

5.  Train your emotions

Nobody wants a robot as a leader, so don’t bury your emotions or ignore them. Instead, work on emotion regulation and respond deliberately rather than impulsively.

This doesn’t mean leaving your emotions at the door and becoming a master of stoicism, it means staying grounded when things go wrong and thinking clearly and strategically instead of purely emotionally.

But how do you shift your mindset day-to-day and make meaningful change that lasts? We’ve got just the answer.

One Daily Habit to Build Resilience in Leadership

Working on your mindset isn’t something you can set and forget. It’s built through small, intentional practices and challenging your core beliefs and behaviors.

One of the most effective ways to achieve a growth mindset is through leadership development journaling, which is structured to help you reflect on challenges and responses so you can identify mindset patterns and blind spots.

Leadership development journaling can also be a major player in reinforcing growth-based thinking as a leader because you can track decisions and emotional triggers. Reflecting on these will establish where you’re going wrong and how to improve, which helps you build resilience and lead with growth in mind.

At My Daily Leadership, our approach to leadership development journaling goes far beyond surface-level reflection. It’s a practical, structured tool designed to help leaders move from intention to action. By building deeper awareness of your mindset patterns, you can identify leadership blind spots and reframe unproductive behaviors.

Final Thoughts: Why Mindset and Resilience Could Be the Missing Pieces of Your Leadership Puzzle

If you're feeling stuck in your leadership, constantly fighting fires, and everyday feels like an uphill batter, don’t just push harder, try and change how you think. Reflecting honestly can help you develop a growth mindset and resilience that carries you through pressure and failure.

And remember above all else that you don’t have to be perfect. Nobody is. But you do have to make progress and understand that resilience in leadership might seem like a personality trait or natural gift, but it’s actually a very learnable skill.

It’s also one of the most undervalued traits a leader can have and developing it alongside a growth mindset in leadership can position you for long-term success.

Find Out More

Are you ready to see what resilience in leadership looks like in action? Episode 24 of our Stop Managing, Start Leading podcast dives deeper into the mindset shifts that matter, with practical tools to help you rewire those limiting beliefs and lead with purpose.

Our book, My Daily Leadership: A Powerful Roadmap for Leadership Success, explores how leaders can transform their thinking through intentional reflection and mindset development. It’s also packed with practical tools to help you grow as a leader from the inside out, shift your mindset towards growth, and apply insights to action with real-world leadership challenges.