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Talent Trade Tidbit - Mindset: Fixed or Growth?

Published on: 23rd October, 2025

Perhaps you've only ever heard that a growth mindset is good, and a fixed mindset is bad. That's not always the case. Learn when IS the right time to put those blinders on, and when to cast them aside.

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Transcript
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This is Stephanie Maas.

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Today I wanna talk to you about your mindset.

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Where is your mindset today?

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I am still finding folks that are clearly defining themselves in one or two mindsets.

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One is a mindset of a fixed mindset.

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The other one is a growth mindset.

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Here's a few characteristics of each.

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The fixed mindset is still thinking and talking about all the challenges of a post pandemic world.

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They're focused on the problems, but rather the mindset is that the world can only be so good, or there can only be so much to be had because we're still in this post pandemic world.

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The flip side of that is the growth mindset, and it's where folks have accepted that this is just kind of where we are right now, and they're determined to be more creative, to be more thoughtful, to find different ways around, over, under, through whatever the challenges of the day are.

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They literally wake up and believe that there is something for them to be had out there.

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They just gotta get to it.

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Another characteristic of somebody who is in a growth mindset is the sense of abundance, meaning there's enough for everyone.

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They're not hoarding nuts for the winter, if you will.

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The fixed mindset is that mentality of scarcity, where they're still kind of hunched over and, and trying to see what they can get to make sure they're taken care of because they don't know if there's gonna be enough to go around.

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It really, at the end of the day, doesn't matter what mindset you are in, as long as you know, Hey, this is where I'm at.

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If you can consciously accept, Hey, I know there may come a time and a place where I can be more growth oriented, but I'm not there today.

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Right now.

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I need to be hunkered down and focused and here, and I'm gonna be in this fixed mindset.

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And if that's where you need to be, that's where you need to be as long as you acknowledge it.

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Same thing with the growth mindset.

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If you know, now's my time to shine.

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I'm pretty excited.

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Own it.

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Let your creative juices flow.

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Be in that mindset, and let me encourage you to take as many folks with you as possible because when you have an abundance mentality, people will naturally be attracted to you.

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There will always be enough to go around and share.

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Again, one is not better than the other.

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They're just different.

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My challenge is, which one are you in, and is that where you want to be today?

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About the Podcast

The Talent Trade
Presented by ThinkingAhead Executive Search
The Talent Trade is all about finding the right person, for the right opportunity, at the right time. But how exactly do you do that the "right" way? Executive Search Partner and Top Biller Stephanie Maas shares more than 25 years of experience about what it takes to be a top recruiter in today's "talent trade" market, using ThinkingAhead’s four-prong system focused on recruiting, business development, planning, and managing your mindset. It’s real, honest information about how to build your desk, perfect your niche, and stand out among the crowd in your search career.



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