The power of ‘yet’ in performance management

There is a strong link between an employee’s mindset and their ability to achieve and many organisations are uncovering the value of adopting ‘growth’ mindsets when coaching workers to improve. This blog post explores how adopting the ‘power of yet’ is integral to performance success.   

Many people have vivid memories from their school days of the ‘red pen’ and the anticipation of finding out their grade. Achieving an ‘A’ was reinforcement of success and provided confidence to tackle the next topic. Conversely, receiving a ‘C’ or below sent a message to the student that they were not successful. 

Thankfully, in a work environment there is a noticeable absence of the red pen and grades are no where to be seen. Evaluating skill level is, however, fundamental to determining a worker’s ongoing suitability in the position– but maybe we need to consider that performance is a journey and instead of deeming that an employee is unable to perform a task, we simply add the word ‘yet’.  

The power of ‘yet’ 

Carol Dweck, a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University has done extensive research distinguishing between ‘fixed’ and 'growth’ mindsets and how they impact us from our early days at school right through to the workplace.  

If you have a growth mindset, it means that you believe that your intelligence and talents can be developed over time. However, if you have a fixed mindset this means that you believe that intelligence is fixed – so if you are not good at something, it will likely stay that way.  

The good news is that Dr Dweck believes that we do not necessarily fall cleanly into one or another; that we are all on the spectrum and this mindset can vary depending upon the situation. If you are reflecting on where you and your colleagues might fall – there are triggers to look for. For example, are you someone that believes that you are no good at presentations? Or do you have a workmate that openly shares that they ‘can’t do spreadsheets’? 

If you would like to nurture and develop growth mindsets in the workplace, it is recommended that the ‘power of yet’ is considered. From a performance perspective, it does not have to be that workers are considered ‘good or bad’ at a task – but rather that the employee is on a development journey they are just not there – yet. 

Consider the below examples: 

The ‘power of yet’ can also be used from a leader’s perspective: 

Building ‘yet’ into the performance discussion 

Employees with a growth mindset will be more likely to respond constructively and positively to feedback in performance discussions. Leaders are often faced with the task of informing employees that they are not where they need to be – but consider for a moment how the tone of the discussion changes when you add the word ‘yet’.  This tiny words packs a punch and shows workers that the leader sees them on a learning journey – as opposed to arriving unsuccessful. 

Leaders are encouraged to promote growth mindsets and the ‘power of yet’ by: 

• Praising employees for their efforts, progress and positive mindset towards each challenge. Granted, this is the workplace and not the classroom – but Dweck’s research strongly supports that performance will increase when the learner believes that success is in their reach. 
• Set team members up for success! Most things are trainable, however there will always be people that are more motivated and aligned to a task than others. Always using your most creative thinker in the team to spend hours analysing data may not be the best solution, however, it is important to help them to understand the ‘power of yet’.  
• Focus on not ‘putting employees in boxes’ where you decide quickly who is good at spreadsheets or presenting at meetings and who is not. The following highlights this example: 

Leader tips to build ‘yet’ into performance discussions  

Weaknesses are strengths that are not yet developed 

Perhaps it is healthier for us to consider that weaknesses are strengths that we haven’t developed yet. A fixed mindset assumes that the end result is set in stone and a growth mindset is comfortable being a ‘work in progress’.  

Employees who commonly fall in the fixed mindset will make peace with being good at some things and not understanding others – but imagine if these employees resisted the temptation to put a label on themselves and becoming stuck in the present. ‘The power of yet’ fundamentally supports the possibility for growth and can dramatically change the performance landscape. 

Further information

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