Fostering a Growth Mindset in Students

In high-stakes interviews, knowledge is useless if you can’t access it under pressure. You know that moment.. Your brain goes blank. Your palms sweat. And instead of solving, you start surviving. But here’s the truth → Problem-solving under stress is not a “talent.” It’s a trainable skill. And the candidates I coach who master it often walk out with multiple job offers. Let me break it down with no-fluff, expert-backed techniques that actually work: 1️⃣ Rewire Your Stress Response with the 4-7-8 Reset When your nervous system panics, your prefrontal cortex (the problem-solving part of your brain) shuts down. Before answering, use the 4-7-8 breathing method: Inhale for 4 sec Hold for 7 sec Exhale for 8 sec This activates the parasympathetic system → instantly reduces cortisol and gives you back cognitive control. 2️⃣ Switch from “Answering” to “Framing” Research from Harvard Business Review shows that candidates who frame the problem out loud sound more confident and buy time to think. Instead of jumping straight in, say: “Let me structure my approach — first I’ll identify the constraints, then I’ll evaluate possible solutions, and finally I’ll recommend the most practical one.” This shows clarity under stress, even before the solution lands. 3️⃣ Use the MECE Method (Consulting’s Secret Weapon) Top consulting firms like McKinsey train candidates to solve under pressure using MECE → Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive. Break the problem into 2–3 distinct, non-overlapping buckets. Example: If asked how to improve a delivery app → Think in “User Experience,” “Logistics,” and “Revenue Streams.” This keeps you structured and avoids rambling. 4️⃣ Apply the 30-70 Rule Neuroscience research shows stress reduces working memory. So don’t aim for perfection. Spend 30% of time defining the problem clearly and 70% generating practical solutions. Most candidates flip this and over-explain, which backfires. 5️⃣ Rehearse with Deliberate Discomfort Candidates who only practice “easy” questions crash in high-pressure moments. I make my students solve case studies with distractions, timers, or sudden curveballs. Why? Because your brain learns to adapt under chaos and that resilience shows in interviews. 👉 Remember: Interviewers aren’t hunting for perfect answers. They’re hunting for calm thinkers. The ones who don’t crumble under the weight of uncertainty. That’s how my students at Google, Deloitte, and Amazon got noticed → not by being geniuses, but by staying structured under stress. Would you like me to share a step-by-step mock interview framework for practicing these techniques? Comment “Framework” and I’ll drop it in my next post. #interviewtips #careerdevelopment #problemsolving #dreamjob #interviewcoach

3 Stress-Reducing Tactics Used by Fighter Pilots—That Work in ANY High-Stakes Moment 🚀 Whether you're in a boardroom, on a stage, making a game-time decision, or handling an emergency, pressure is inevitable. Losing control? That’s optional. Here’s how fighter pilots stay cool under extreme stress—and how you can, too: 1️⃣ Interrupt the Panic Loop When tension spikes, your brain locks up. Pilots wiggle their toes. Why? Because it forces your focus back to the present and stops your mind from spiraling. Try it before your next big moment. 2️⃣ Force a Micro-Pause High-pressure situations make you rush—which leads to mistakes. Instead, take one deep breath before you act. Even a half-second pause creates space for better decisions over knee-jerk reactions. 3️⃣ Default to Training, Not Emotion Under stress, instincts aren’t always right. That’s why pilots train relentlessly—to build automatic responses for critical moments. Repetition creates confidence. The more you prepare, the less pressure shakes you. 🔥 Bottom line: Stress is a given. Staying in control is a choice. Try one of these next time you’re in a high-stakes moment—then report back! 😎 👉 What’s YOUR best quick stress-reducing tactic? Drop it in the comments! #PerformanceUnderPressure #Mindset #Leadership #TheFlipside ------------------------ Hi, I’m Michelle, a former fighter pilot turned speaker and author. I help people turn fear into fuel and take bold action, improving their lives and creating higher-performing teams. 🚀 Ready to make your next event unforgettable? Let’s talk! 📩 Shoot me a DM or email and let's chat!

If you want to stay positive at work, read this carefully. Here are 7 daily practices that actually work in high-pressure jobs: 1. End-day reflection → list 3 things that went well. 2. Set clear work boundaries → no emails after specific hours. 3. Take 2-minute breathers every hour → step away from your desk. 4. Time-block your tasks → reduces overwhelm and increases focus. 5. Practice active acknowledgment → note 3 wins daily, no matter how small. 6. Use the "pause technique" → count to 5 before reacting to stressful situations. 7. Start with a 10-minute morning routine → meditation, gratitude list, or quick stretching. I've tested these extensively, and here's what I noticed: • Consistency matters more than perfection • Better boundaries = better performance • Your energy affects your entire team • Small actions compound over time The key is starting small. Don't try all 7 at once. Pick 2-3 practices and stick to them for 21 days. Then add more gradually. These aren't just "nice to have" - they're essential for long-term success in demanding roles. Keep showing up. Stay consistent. (Share this with your team) P.S. Which practice will you try first? Let me know below.

Turning massive challenges into golden opportunities is a game that Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors, has mastered. The biggest lesson from her leadership style at General Motors? Turning challenges into opportunities. When faced with major recalls and financial crises, she didn’t just steer the company; she transformed it. Here’s how: - Barra addressed issues openly, ensuring clear communication and rebuilding trust. This approach reduced crisis response time by 40% and boosted employee trust by 25%. - She led GM into the electric and autonomous vehicle markets, launching 20 new electric models and increasing market share by 30%. - Barra fostered a culture of accountability and excellence, resulting in a 15% boost in productivity and a significant reduction in operational errors. Reflecting on her journey, I’m reminded of our own at Supersourcing. When scaling up, aligning our leadership with a clear vision was crucial. Open communication and unified goals, like Barra’s, boosted our client satisfaction by 30% and cut project delivery times by 20%. The point of this post? Leaders who prioritize transparency, embrace innovation and foster accountability drive significant growth and resilience How do you ensure your team is aligned with your vision? Share your experiences and insights below—let's learn and grow together!

Turning Organizational change into Innovation opportunities Did you know? According to a McKinsey study, 70% of change programs fail to achieve their goals, largely due to employee resistance and lack of management support. Recently, I organized an innovation session at Siemens Gamesa during a time of organizational change. It's natural for employees to feel anxious about their roles and futures when shifts occur. But I saw this as a perfect opportunity to develop a growth mindset and spark innovation. We focused on design thinking and changing perspectives. Instead of dwelling on uncertainties, we channeled energy into generating new ideas and business cases. We explored collaboration opportunities across reshuffled teams and leveraged our institutional knowledge to identify overlooked improvement areas. As John F. Kennedy once said, "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." The results were inspiring. The team emerged with a wealth of innovative ideas, some already slated for implementation. This not only boosted morale but reinforced the power of adopting change with creativity. Remember, organizational change can be a catalyst for innovation. By focusing on what we can control, thinking differently and seeing possibilities where others see obstacles, we can turn uncertainty into opportunity. If your company is navigating change, I'd love to hear about your experiences. Let's connect and explore how we can turn change into growth! #OrganizationalChange #Innovation #GrowthMindset #LeadershipDevelopment

Finding optimism 🌈 Since publishing my piece on optimism in conservation (https://mongabay.cc/fscDRz), I’ve heard from many who are finding it tough. I’m not an expert, but here are ideas that might help in the right situation. Treat optimism as a method, not a mood. Narrow the frame, pick levers you can pull, and build habits that keep effort tied to consequence. Pair near-term actions with a clear view of power and policy; some problems require coalition pressure or litigation. Start smaller. Define your sphere of control for this week, this quarter, and this year—co-defined with the people most affected. Write it down. A bounded problem can restore agency. Set minimum viable wins. Choose outcomes you can verify and include process and relationship outcomes—trust, consent, functioning local institutions—not only what’s easy to count. Where feasible, baseline, measure, and mark completion. Keep a “wins ledger.” Record the result, evidence, partners, and enablers. Store it securely, minimize sensitive details, obtain consent before sharing, and redact anything that could expose people to risk. Pair every problem with an action. When you brief a bleak trend, add one concrete step a specific person can take, and where possible include resources or introductions. Build a portfolio of time horizons. Balance quick wins with medium projects and one long bet. If capacity is thin, rotate emphasis over quarters. Strengthen your coalition. Map who benefits, who decides, and who can block. Practice reciprocity with substance: budget transparency, shared credit, and paid roles for community partners. Install guardrails. Run pre-mortems, set “kill criteria,” and name trade-offs early. Plan exits with communities and donors so off-ramps don’t leave partners exposed. Manage your information diet. Schedule when you absorb grim updates and when you gather ground truth. Protect attention for decisions; minimize non-actionable noise, recognizing frontline actors can’t always opt out. Rehearse setbacks. Write simple if-then plans (if funding drops 30%, we pause X and prioritize Y). Address burnout rooted in hostile policy or broken funding cycles, not just mindsets. Care for people. Rotate high-stress assignments, normalize debriefs, and protect time off. Time in nature isn’t indulgence; it’s maintenance. Grief and anger are valid signals; channel them into action. Tell small stories well. Show cause and effect in a specific place, credit the full cast, and share enough detail for others to copy. Publish what didn’t work and why, and note what context made a tactic transferable (or not). Codify what worked into checklists or agreements. This is a menu, not a mandate. There is evidence for simple tools like if-then plans, checklists, and pre-mortems; use what fits. None of this denies the scale of loss. It aims to build the conditions to keep going. Optimism, practiced this way, is discipline in service of durable results.

In my recent conversations with CXOs, I have noticed an increased need to focus on teams “as a whole.” It’s no longer just about being resilient or adaptive; now, it’s about how quickly teams can shift their thinking, embrace ambiguity, and reframe challenges as opportunities. As organizations face rapid change and uncertainty, cognitive flexibility is emerging as a key skill for success.  Cognitive Flexibility is the ability to switch between thinking about different concepts and adapt to new, unexpected situations. In other words, it’s mental agility, something crucial in today’s BANI world [Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, and Incomprehensible]. Why it matters now: ·      AI and Automation: As technology reshapes roles, those with cognitive flexibility can pivot their skills and adjust their thinking faster. ·      Complex Problem-Solving: Organizations are facing more multi-dimensional problems than ever, requiring teams that can navigate the non-linear, chaotic nature of BANI. ·      Leadership: Flexible leaders are better equipped to handle brittle systems, manage anxieties within their teams, and navigate unpredictable environments. How to nurture cognitive flexibility in your teams? ·      Encourage cross-functional collaboration to expose teams to new perspectives. ·      Embrace continuous learning, create environments where people can experiment and evolve. ·      Promote reflection, pause to reframe challenges and think about alternative approaches. In a world shaped by complexity and uncertainty, cognitive flexibility might just be the ultimate competitive advantage. How are you building this in your teams? #OrganizationalPsychology #CognitiveFlexibility #BANI #FutureOfWork #Leadership #ChangeManagement #Innovation #leadershipcoach

Adaptability is not just about adjusting plans, it’s about how you lead when plans change. It's the ability to respond thoughtfully and quickly when circumstances shift , without losing sight of people or purpose. 👩🏭 It's the plant manager who adjusts production schedules in response to supply chain issues without blaming the team, and involving them in finding solutions. 👨🏭 It's the site foreman who calmly adjusts plans when weather delays hit, reassigning tasks to keep the crew productive instead of standing still. 👩💼 It's the store manager who rotates staff across departments during a sudden staffing shortage, while keeping morale high and communicating clearly. I've worked with people in all of these positions, and more. And every single person who showed real adaptability had a few things in common: 📌 They stayed steady 📌 They stayed human 📌 They brought people with them 📌 They kept things moving. And underneath that... 📌 They were curious 📌 They were willing to unlearn 📌 They paused to reflect 📌 They shared their ideas 📌 They didn't try to have it all figured out Are we developing these competencies in ourselves and others? How can we improve our approach? Leave your comments below 🙏

Adaptability could well be the skill that defines our success in this era we find ourselves in. In her new book "Adapt: Mastering change in four steps," Andrea Clarke makes a compelling case for why and how we need to cultivate what she calls a high "adaptability quotient" or AQ. Full disclosure: Andrea is a friend, and she repeatedly reminded me that I'm not the target audience of this book given my extensive background in foresight & tech. She also quotes me extensively in the book. Nevertheless, I found myself thoroughly engaged with the book - and more importantly, realized just how many people ARE the target audience for this important message. Clarke's central thesis is that adaptability isn't just another nice-to-have leadership skill, or the flavor of the month - it's becoming fundamental to navigating both our professional and personal lives in this period of rapid change. As she puts it, "we are currently in a window of opportunity to make small moves that could change our long game" - a sentiment I can wholeheartedly agree with, though I always bristle a bit at the term 'game'. Something that sets "Adapt" apart is its accessibility in covering many important topics. Andrea, for example, introduces fundamental foresight techniques and breaks them down into digestible, practical approaches that anyone can understand and apply. The book is peppered with aviation metaphors and stories (which admittedly was an easy way to win me over, given they were used well), but more importantly, it's filled with practical checklists and exercises that prompt you to tackle often-neglected aspects of adaptability, from resilience reality checks to detecting impermanence in your environment. One of the book's strengths lies in how Andrea weaves her own remarkable experiences throughout the narrative, making the concepts feel grounded and real rather than a theoretical framework. One point about hiring resonated with me: "We need to hire and develop individuals who have the emotional maturity to handle change, collaborate effectively, and contribute to a positive team culture." While I wholeheartedly agree, I'd note there's both a chronic shortage of such individuals and, more problematically, many organizations aren't actually prioritizing these qualities in their hiring practices - nor go through the trouble of developing their talent on them. "High-AQ habits" Clarke describes and provides tools for in the book aren't just nice ideas - they're becoming survival skills in our rapidly evolving world. The book offers a practical roadmap for developing them, making concepts accessible without oversimplifying them, and offering them in a quick read a busy executive can read on one domestic flight. * Rating: 4.5 out of 5 * Dog-ear index: 6.5 * Who is it for: Anyone feeling overwhelmed by the pace of change in their professional or personal life, and individuals who know they need to upgrade their adaptability skills but aren't sure where to start.

I'm thrilled to share my 25th article for Rolling Stone, "Turning Adversity into Your Superpower." In this piece, I reflect on the inspiring story of Vasanti, a young woman from India who transformed her struggles into strengths. Growing up, Vasanti was told she needed to excel at computer programming to succeed abroad. Despite not being the best coder and even being bullied by a teacher, she persevered. "I love being told I can’t do something now, just so I can rise up to the challenge and prove others wrong," she shared with us. At a workshop we produced a few years ago, Vasanti's story moved everyone in the room. Despite feeling discouraged and nearly giving up, she taught herself to code, eventually landing a programming job in the U.S. Her resilience and determination became her superpower, inspiring her peers. My friend Kathleen Griffith created a framework in her book "Build Like a Woman" that I think directly applies to Vasanti's story. She shifted from breakdown to breakthrough and turned adversity into strength: ∙Acknowledged the Breakdown: Vasanti admitted that the teacher's bullying made her feel inadequate and almost caused her to abandon her coding dreams. ∙Identified the Breakthrough Goal: Despite her doubts, Vasanti decided she wanted to prove her capabilities and succeed in coding, setting a clear goal for herself. ∙Declared Action: She took control of her learning, teaching herself to code. Her self-driven learning process became a pivotal step in her journey. Her story at our workshop had a profound impact on her team. As Vasanti shared her journey, I noticed her teammates nodding and writing things down. One of her teammates, Ryan, was particularly inspired. When I asked him what he was jotting down, he said, "Honestly? I’m listing out new assignments that I can give to Vasanti." Vasanti's journey is a powerful reminder that our toughest moments can shape us into resilient, innovative individuals. Recognizing and sharing how our adversities turned into our strengths (even superpowers) can help us grow, build trust, and foster closer connections within our teams. For all the leaders out there, I encourage you to bring this model into your next team meeting. Ask your team members to share an adverse experience that shaped them and discuss the superpowers they've developed because of it. You'll be amazed at the strength and resilience within your team. You'll be amazed at the amazing stories people tell of how they developed the focus, grit, determination, wisdom, clarity that they now use to bring a positive impact on our world. Don't dwell on the negative, focus on the positive! Link to the article in the Comments below!