Ever since reading Carol Dweck’s book Mindset, I’ve looked at my client meetings a little differently.
It’s not that I’m conducting some secret psychological experiment, but during these initial conversations, I’m watching for clues as to the client’s mindset:
Do they lean in when we talk about challenges, or do they subtly pull back?
Do they own their role in past missteps, or do they tend to blame external forces?
Do they seem energized by uncertainty, or does it make them visibly uncomfortable?
I’m trying to get a feel for where they land on the mindset continuum — because mindset is not an either/or, fixed-or-growth label.
It’s a Spectrum, Not a Box
No one is purely “fixed” or purely “growth.” We all fall somewhere between the two extremes, and we can even land in different places depending on the context.
You might have a very growth-minded approach to your craft — always learning, constantly improving — but a fixed mindset about finances, believing “I’m just bad with numbers.”
Or you might be adventurous about trying new marketing strategies, but you are cautious, even reluctant, when it comes to hiring.
Mindsets aren’t static. They shift with experience, environment, and how much risk you’re willing to embrace in a particular area of life.
Why It Matters in Business
Over the years, I’ve become convinced that a person’s place on this continuum is one of the strongest predictors of business outcomes.
More growth-minded owners tend to adapt faster, bounce back from setbacks, and treat challenges as puzzles to solve rather than judgments of their abilities.
More fixed-minded owners tend to retreat after a failure, sometimes abandoning a good idea entirely because it threatens their self-image.
That doesn’t mean one group is doomed and the other is guaranteed to succeed — but it does mean my coaching approach needs to change based on where someone is starting from.
Two Hypothetical Owners, Same Problem
To make this concept more tangible, let’s imagine two business owners who hit the same snag: they both lost their biggest client unexpectedly.
Client A (more fixed mindset) interprets the setback as evidence that they aimed too high. Rather than viewing the loss as a learning opportunity, they conclude that pursuing large clients is unrealistic for them. In response, they scale back their marketing, stop targeting similar prospects, and retreat into smaller, safer projects that feel more manageable.
Client B (more growth mindset) interprets the same setback as valuable feedback. They see the lost client as an opportunity to refine their process. Instead of pulling back, they review what went wrong, adjust their approach, and double down on pursuing similar clients with improved strategies.
These are hypothetical examples, but they capture the very real patterns I’ve seen in the real world. One response locks the business into playing small. The other response puts it back on a growth path.
The Dunning-Kruger Tie-In
This also connects to the Dunning-Kruger effect — the bias whereby less skilled people tend to overestimate their ability, while highly skilled people are more aware of what they don’t know.
Owners with a more fixed mindset often get stuck on the overestimation side. If they’ve been good at something once, they assume they’ll always be good at it. When a setback challenges that belief, it feels threatening — so they avoid situations where they might be “found out.”
Related Post: What I’ve Learned From Coaching Entrepreneurs About Rethinking Beliefs—and Why Most Get It Wrong
Owners with a more growth mindset tend to say, “I don’t know enough yet,” which prompts them to seek help, learn faster, and improve. That humility accelerates their progress.
Flow and Comfort Zones
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of Flow is another piece of this puzzle — that state where you’re fully immersed in a task, challenged just enough to grow but not so much that you’re overwhelmed.
More growth-minded owners deliberately place themselves just beyond their comfort zone because they know that’s where the real growth happens.
More fixed-minded owners prefer to stay in familiar territory, which feels safe but eventually stalls their progress.
The truth is, sustainable business growth usually happens in that uncomfortable, slightly-too-hard zone.
How Mindset Shapes My Coaching Approach
The first thing I try to figure out is where the client rests on the continuum, as where they are influences how I work with them.
If they lean more fixed: My priority is getting them to take more ownership of failures without seeing them as a threat to their self-worth. We work on separating their identity from their results. I encourage them to step outside their comfort zone in small yet manageable ways. The early goal is less about business strategy and more about building the psychological safety to try new things without feeling personally “on trial.”
If they lean more growth: We can hit the ground running. They’re usually more open to feedback, willing to experiment, and quicker to implement changes. I’ll give them more “homework” — action steps to test between sessions — because I know they’re likely to take it seriously and bring back learnings they can use.
By tailoring my approach this way, I meet clients where they are and give them the right kind of push to move forward.
Mindset and Imposter Syndrome
Here’s an interesting twist: imposter syndrome shows up in both ends of the spectrum — but it plays out quite differently.
More fixed-minded clients often see imposter syndrome feelings as proof they don’t belong. They’ll avoid situations where they feel out of their depth, which limits growth opportunities.
More growth-minded clients see imposter syndrome feelings as evidence they’re stretching themselves. They may not enjoy the discomfort, but they expect it and view it as a sign they’re in the right place to learn.
In my experience, if you never feel like an imposter, you’re probably not pushing far enough beyond what you already know.
A Quick Self-Check
If you’re wondering where you might fall on the continuum, ask yourself three questions:
When I hit a setback, do I first look at what I could have done differently, or do I immediately look for an external cause?
Do I actively seek out challenges that stretch me, or do I stick to what I already know I can do well?
When I feel out of my depth, do I interpret that as a growth opportunity or as a red flag to pull back?
Your responses aren’t about putting yourself into either the “fixed” or “growth” mindset box — it’s about recognizing your tendencies so you can shift them when it matters most.
Conclusion
Mindset isn’t destiny — it’s a habit of thinking, and like any habit, it can be changed.
I’ve worked with clients who started off with more of a fixed mindset and who, over time, learned to take more ownership of their failures, to stop protecting their image at the cost of progress, and to step into the kinds of challenges that once scared them off.
I’ve also seen growth-minded owners become even more effective by channeling their appetite for challenges into focused, strategic action.
When I meet a new client, I’m quietly asking myself: Where are they on the continuum, and what do they need from me to take the next step forward? Because once I know where they are on the continuum, we can either start by expanding their comfort zone or get straight to work.
Where are they on the continuum?
