Training Industry Magazine - Summer 2023 - 59

SCIENCE OF
LEARNING
SRINI PILLAY,
M.D.
HIGH-PERFORMANCE MINDSET: AN IGNORED
DIMENSION OF WELL-BEING
Many people think that well-being is
a " soft " issue and not a management
problem to solve. According to a study
by Gallup, the impact of well-being on
organizational performance is significant.
For example, lower well-being is
associated with $322 billion dollars of
turnover and lost productivity globally.
Well-being is usually associated with
eating well, sleeping well, exercising
and taking care of our energy. But we
often do these things reactively, only
thinking about well-being when we
reach the stage of burnout.
THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE MINDSET
There are many aspects of a highperformance
mindset, but in this article,
I'd like to focus on three: psychological
momentum, an abundance mindset
and the possibility mindset. Individuals
should strive to develop these
mindsets at work and outside of work
to make high performance a defining
characteristic of who they are as they
develop as leaders.
Psychological momentum: When
people win repeatedly, this is not simply
an outcome. The " feeling " of winning is
most powerful when it is experienced
as an " embodied " phenomenon. As a
result, it can be automatically activated.
Think of a soccer player who scores a
goal. Rarely do you see such a player
run back to their teams with their hands
by their sides. Usually, their hands are
up in the air, they are running, their
hearts are beating quickly, and the
feeling of the goal that they just scored
is etched into their brains.
To develop psychological momentum,
there are three basic practices to
remember: Celebrate wins with a
whole-bodied expression. Don't be
shy to show a fist pump or a high five.
And since winning is associated with
advancing, have a place where you
can document and observe those wins.
Take strategic breaks to refuel your
brain, and limit disruptions to your work
or practice. When you're disrupted
at high momentum, it can take a far
greater toll, compared to the impact
of disruption on someone working at a
steady pace.
Abundance mindset: A scarcity mindset
is one where people believe that there
are not enough resources to win. This
lowers the activation in a brain region
that helps with goal-directed choice. In
addition, scarcity mindsets impact brains
so that they have less control over
their thoughts. That's why people with
abundant mindsets perform better. They
are more driven to reach their goals.
If you lose a few battles at work,
consider that there are plenty of battles
to win. Don't hold back on giving your
energy to the next task at hand. When
you realize that you have unlimited
potential and don't have to dole out your
psychological energy with excessive
caution, this can be helpful. People with
scarcity mindsets are more concrete
and less expansive in their thinking, and
they also have lower well-being, higher
fatalism and lower protective behavior
against challenges to their immunity.
Possibility mindset: A person with a
possibility mindset believes in long
shots. They go after high-risk, highreward
targets. If you're risk-averse,
you might avoid this. But doing so will
limit the gains you can make.
IF YOU LOSE A FEW
BATTLES AT WORK,
CONSIDER THAT
THERE ARE PLENTY OF
BATTLES TO WIN.
In the brain, this behavior is associated
with the activation of reward circuits as
well. People who think this way also
overestimate the likelihood of success,
but they're not afraid of failure. They see
this as a necessary " breakdown " that
signals the need for course correction.
When you're biased toward optimism,
you feel more motivated and creative,
and you have greater self-esteem. You
may think your self-esteem is more
protected when you're cautious, but this
is not the case.
Mindset is central to well-being. And
a winning mindset is informed (but
not deterred) by risk because it is
well-prepared.
Dr. Srini Pillay is the CEO
of NeuroBusiness Group. He is a
Harvard-trained psychiatrist and
neuroscientist, on the Consortium
for Learning Innovation at McKinsey
& Company, and author of " Tinker
Dabble Doodle Try. " Srini is also cofounder,
chief medical officer and chief
learning officer of Reulay. Email Srini.
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