You Can't Be Anything You Want to Be: Part 2
Unfortunately, there’s a common theory of human development that leads many people to believe the answer is “yes.” What’s now known as the “growth mindset” gained wide popularity in 2006 with the release of Dr. Carol Dweck’s book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
The Growth Mindset
Her work contrasts a “growth mindset” and a “fixed mindset,” which represent two distinct attitudes toward personal abilities and potential. According to Dweck, a fixed mindset sees abilities as innate and unchangeable, whereas a growth mindset suggests they can be developed through effort and learning.
While I agree with the fundamental premise of a growth mindset, it has come to represent the damaging ideology at the center of “you can be anything you want to be”.
I do think we can improve most skills to some extent, but I don't believe we can develop every skill to the level required for top performance in a job. This is what the growth mindset leads people to conclude.
Proficiency Caps
I think proficiency caps are totally legit. A proficiency cap represents the highest level of proficiency to which an individual can develop a particular skill.
Every person has a set of skills they can develop to a level of nine or ten. While their beliefs and actions determine their success in developing those abilities, the proficiency camp is established by their innate design. It's not so ethign they have control over or can change.
Tell Your Kids Something Better
Instead of encouraging our kids to be whatever they want to be, we should encourage them to identify their high-proficiency aptitudes and start considering jobs where they can be utilized.
Discovering high-capacity skills is not all that’s required for identifying a True Job Fit, but it's a great way to start narrowing things down so our kids are not pursuing options they’ll never be able to do with a high level of excellence.
The unique story-based assessment tool I use in my coaching can accurately identify these types of aptitudes in a young person, in addition to other essential facets of their wiring that are crucial for job matching. You can learn more about it HERE.
I know the idea of being anything you want to be sounds very liberating and empowering, but the opposite is true! The idea causes our kids to be misled into careers requiring skills with low proficiency caps while missing out on options they'd be able to do with high levels of excellence.
Unfortunately, there’s a common theory of human development that leads many people to believe the answer is “yes.” What’s now known as the “growth mindset” gained wide popularity in 2006 with the release of Dr. Carol Dweck’s book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
The Growth Mindset
Her work contrasts a “growth mindset” and a “fixed mindset,” which represent two distinct attitudes toward personal abilities and potential. According to Dweck, a fixed mindset sees abilities as innate and unchangeable, whereas a growth mindset suggests they can be developed through effort and learning.
While I agree with the fundamental premise of a growth mindset, it has come to represent the damaging ideology at the center of “you can be anything you want to be”.
I do think we can improve most skills to some extent, but I don't believe we can develop every skill to the level required for top performance in a job. This is what the growth mindset leads people to conclude.
Proficiency Caps
I think proficiency caps are totally legit. A proficiency cap represents the highest level of proficiency to which an individual can develop a particular skill.
Every person has a set of skills they can develop to a level of nine or ten. While their beliefs and actions determine their success in developing those abilities, the proficiency camp is established by their innate design. It's not so ethign they have control over or can change.
Tell Your Kids Something Better
Instead of encouraging our kids to be whatever they want to be, we should encourage them to identify their high-proficiency aptitudes and start considering jobs where they can be utilized.
Discovering high-capacity skills is not all that’s required for identifying a True Job Fit, but it's a great way to start narrowing things down so our kids are not pursuing options they’ll never be able to do with a high level of excellence.
The unique story-based assessment tool I use in my coaching can accurately identify these types of aptitudes in a young person, in addition to other essential facets of their wiring that are crucial for job matching. You can learn more about it HERE.
I know the idea of being anything you want to be sounds very liberating and empowering, but the opposite is true! The idea causes our kids to be misled into careers requiring skills with low proficiency caps while missing out on options they'd be able to do with high levels of excellence.
You Can't Be Anything They Want to Be Series
Part 1: Sorry, Your Kid Can’t Be Anything They Want To Be
Part 2: Proficiency Caps and the Growth Mindset
Part 3:
Part 4:
START A CONVO
Initiate a conversation with your child about this subject using the following prompts:
- Do you think a person can develop every skill to a level nine or ten, or is there a proficiency cap? Explain.
- What’s the difference between having the potential for something and reaching that potential?
THE FREE RESOURCE
The free resource associated with this theme is for parents. It's the Why Our Kids Can't Be Anything They Want to Be infographic. You can get your FREE copy HERE.
RELATED RESOURCES
The MapInMe Journey is a unique one-to-one customized coaching experience for teens and twentysomethings that identifies a True Job Match so they can move forward with clarity and Confidence.
