© aqr international 2016 · development, he has written extensively on the topic. in 2013, he...

1 © AQR International 2016


How Mental Toughness fit into current and future thinking?

We are already seeing a lot of language and terminology that describes different aspects of the

same thing. There is a growing understanding that it is not just ability that matters in performance

and wellbeing, but there are other qualities that are fundamentally important.

We hear terms like character, resilience, grit, mindset, determination, learned optimism and

tenacity amongst many others, being bandied about as descriptors of this important quality. It

seems to be increasingly important as the world changes and the way people and organisations are

developing. However most of these terms are poorly defined and there is often little agreement

between researchers and amongst observers what each term means.

Nevertheless, there has been a lot of very useful and valuable work carried out to explore thinking

in this area. Much of the work has been carried out in specific fields where the researcher or author

has a specific interest. Wherever the field, the work shows a great deal of similarity. What we can

say is that almost all of those ideas seem to fall within a common framework and that is the

framework provided by the Mental Toughness model.

Two of the leading lights have been Carol Dweck who has developed the idea of Mindset and

Martin Seligman who has developed the notion of positive psychology. Both have their roots in

education, although Seligman’s work is reaching a wider audience in the occupational world.

Two key journalists; Matthew Syed in the UK and Paul Tough in the USA have both written about

the value of character and resilience. Matthew Syed writes for the Times and Paul Tough is a lead

writer for the New York Times. Both journalists emphasise that it is as important as ability.

In the occupational world Jim Collins writes about Hardiness which when we examine closely is

pretty much what we call Mental Toughness.


There are also many writers in the sports world. Most however focus on tools

and techniques rather than describing a concept and relating interventions to that. What they do

provide is a plethora of excellent case studies and illustrations of how to create winning teams and

individuals sometimes form seemingly hopeless situations.

A list of recommended texts is provided in the resources section.


Carol Dweck

A professor at Stanford University she developed the notion of Mindset as a

key factor in performance and well-being. She defined Mindset in terms of words such as character,

heart, will etc.

Dweck proposed that people generally adopted one of two mindsets; the Fixed Mindset and the

Flexible Mindset.

Those who hold a Fixed Mindset tended to focus on ability rather than effort. In fact, effort was in

some ways disagreeable. You could do “it” because either you were able or you could not do “it”

because you did not have the ability. Success should be effortless. They would tend to avoid risk

wherever possible and would be particularly keen to avoid setbacks and failures. Where these

occurred, they would normally be attributed to others, it was not their fault.

Those who hold a Flexible Mindset took an opposite view. Ability might be useful and important

but effort and hard work were at least as important, and normally much more important.

Confidence features largely in this mindset. There is an acceptance that problems, setbacks and

failures will arise, but they are as valuable learning opportunities as any other. In fact challenging

oneself and stretching oneself was good. Taking risks developed people.

If people can learn, they can change. They are not fixed. What one person can learn, everyone can

learn. Change was often the result of purposeful practice - a new behaviour only became a habit if

practised regularly.

Flexible Mindset is sometimes called the Growth Mindset. Only this Mindset delivers sustainable

success. It is not too difficult to see that a Flexible Mindset equates to what we call Mental

Toughness and a Fixed Mindset shows many of the characteristics of a Mentally Sensitive individual.


Carol Dweck carried out a famous experiment, which illustrated this nicely

and contributed to our understanding of effective feedback.

She took a large (400+) group of students and split them randomly into two groups. Both groups

were given some mathematical problems to solve which were well within their capability. Most

students were able to solve the problems.

This was repeated a couple of times and on each occasion the same type of feedback was provided

to each group.

Both groups were then asked to tackle some mathematical problems that were much harder and

would be a real stretch for most students.

Most in Group B solved the problems

Most in Group A failed

What Dweck had done through the feedback provided, was to develop the mindset of Group A to

believe that it was their cleverness, their ability, which solved the problems. When they hit some

tough problems, they assumed they were struggling because they were not clever enough to solve

them.

Group B on the other hand had been conditioned to think that their success was largely down to

working hard. When tougher problems came along they simply took the view that they had to work

hard and the solutions would come.

The experiment neatly demonstrated that ability might be important but attitude and mindset are

just as important.

Group A was congratulated for its cleverness at solving the problem - their ability was

recognised

Group B was congratulated for working hard to solve the problems


It also illustrates that the way feedback is provided to individuals can have a

conditioning effect. Praise and recognition is important, and the nature of

that praise is equally important.

It is particularly important to recognise hard work and effort rather than ability of course, as we

have seen this is a recurring theme in the Mental Toughness model.

We recommend that you read at least the first half of Dweck’s book, Mindset.


Martin Seligman

Another major contributor is Martin Seligman. Sometimes referred to as the “father of positive

psychology”, he has proposed that two types of people; optimists and pessimists populate the

world.

Pessimists

Typically take a negative view on life and events.

In part, he suggests that pessimists are a product of a process of learned helplessness. In other

words, the way they develop has a bearing on their mindset.

If they learn that most things are outside or their control and the response to a challenge is for

someone to provide a solution for them, then they learn to be helpless over time. This being the

case even when the individual has the opportunity to do something for themselves

He called this, learned helplessness.

Studies have shown that there is a correlation with a tendency for people to blame themselves

when things go wrong even when there is no good reason to do so. There is even a suggestion that

this might be factor in mental health arising from the perceived lack of control on behalf of the

individual.

Optimists

Optimists on the other hand take a more positive view of the world and events, their mindset has

been shaped by a process of learned optimism. The idea here is that a predisposition towards joy or

happiness can be developed. Indeed the very process of learning can help to develop optimism.

At one time, Seligman made the idea of happiness quite central to his thinking, arguing if you are

happy then you can see the positive in any situation. The use of the term has been challenged and

there is less reference to it in recent times. The emphasis is now much more on

contentment.


Optimists feel very much in control of their lives – they tend to visualise a

world full of opportunity. This can even be the case when the immediate

surroundings or circumstances would seem to suggest otherwise. They tend

to be confident about dealing with setbacks and problems and can show

resilience when needed.

Seligman has written several books. Flourish is perhaps the pick of the crop.

In North America, there is a growing interest in the notion of Grit, Character

and Resilience and the terms are freely used in the world of management

and education. Mental Toughness too is a well-understood concept and is

“leaking” out from the sports world into the occupational and educational

worlds.


Paul Tough

Paul Tough, a leading US journalist specialising in education and child

development, he has written extensively on the topic. In 2013, he wrote “How Children Succeed:

Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character”.

Although not a researcher himself, he pulled together the outcomes of a range of research to

present coherent argument that:

Perseverance

Curiosity

Conscientiousness

Optimism

Self-control

Early intervention

Were the important factors in his definition of Character. In turn, these seemed to ensure a better

degree, a better job and, ultimately, a more fulfilling life for most people.

He makes a very compelling case for early intervention showing how it is possible to develop

confident young people who mature into effective, positive adults.


Matthew Syed

In the UK, former world table tennis champion and now leading journalist,

Matthew Syed, wrote, “Bounce. The myth of Talent and the power of

practice”. Like Paul Tough, he pulled together a number of models and

interesting case studies to propose that the key to success is more often

purposeful practice and hard work than simply talent alone. Drawing heavily

although not exclusively from the sports world he examines questions such

as:

Why did, at one time, several of the leading table tennis players in the

world live in the same street in Reading – a fairly non-descript town in

the UK?

Why are the best figure skaters sometimes those who fall over the most?

Why do three of the leading women chees players all come from the same family?

Matthew Syed’s conclusion was that a lot is down to mindset. He is an advocate of Dweck, freely

referencing her work.

Character and attitude are also key; with a strong sense of self-belief, he showed that it was

possible to excel where it was thought not possible. Syed supports the notion of mind over matter,

self-belief. Learning from others and working with other high performers in what he called “Citadels

of excellence” the idea that if you want to be a star, work with stars.

The importance of dealing with setback and fear: Choking was an opportunity as well as a threat.

So having the confidence to learn from mistakes was a consistent factor in success. “It’s OK to

choke if you do it once only.”


Jim Collins

Jim Collins is the author of “Good to Great”. Collin carried our research

on top global businesses; 1435 organisations which has featured in the

Fortune 500 listing over 30 years.

Collins identified companies that had featured consistently and

sustainably over a long period of time (+15 years).

The research found only 11 companies, but they all did the same things.

One of these was that 10 out of 11 of the companies were led by

introverts!

Collins’ key messages:

“Good was the enemy of great” - What he meant was that many organisations do achieve a

great deal but if they think they have ‘done it’, they will often lapse into complacency. Being

great was about relentlessly adhering to continuous improvement. It is not difficult to relate a

Mentally Tough mindset to this corporate attitude.

Level 5 leadership - By that he meant leaders in the modern era had to listen to their followers.

They were after all, “at the coal face”. They had to empower their followers. Decisions were

best taken where the issue occurred. To do this, leaders had to strike a balance between steely

determination, pointing the way ahead and humility.

His most important observation was that each of the truly high performing organisations put a

premium on getting the best people on board. Vision, strategy and tactics were all important

but not as important as getting people with the right mindset on board. With the right people,

he argued, you can deliver any strategy and plan. With the wrong people, even the best plan

can fail.


This turned organisational development on its head. Conventional wisdom

had it that clarity of purpose was the most important thing. It is important,

but not nearly as important as having people with the right mindset. Once again, it is not difficult to

connect Mental Toughness here.

Then he observed that all his high performing organisations demonstrated “Hardiness”. They knew

there would be setbacks and problems but they had the quality to deal with them positively.

Sometimes realising that if they dealt with a challenge and others did not, they would be the

survivor and would thrive whilst others failed and died. They had to retain faith in their ability to

“do it”.

If you read the chapter or even the chapter summary, you will recognise his description of

Hardiness. It is what we call mental toughness.

He next identified the importance of focus. He observed that the truly successful knew what “their

one big thing” was and they were prepared to be passionate about achieving this precious goal. It

was the quality that set them apart from all the rest as well as knowing how to measure success.

Focus and commitment in exactly this way sits at the heart of the Mental Toughness concept, as

you have seen.

He observed that the most successful observed a culture of strong discipline. Once they had

identified their focus they were relentless about maintaining focus and not being easily diverted.

“Stop doing” he said was more important than “To do lists”. Once again, this resonates heavily with

Mental Toughness.

Finally, he noted that the best were rarely close followers of fashion. They were not faddists. They

preferred to work with proven technology and ideas and they took a long-term view about growth

and success. Rarely did success arrive overnight; it was usually the result of continuous and

sustained attention to change. Change did not happen in “One fell swoop”. It was a continuous

incremental journey.

Therefore, Mental Toughness and its elements is a recurring theme throughout Jim Collin’s work.


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Tel: 0044 0 1244 572050

Fax: 044 0 124 572051

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.aqrinternational.co.uk

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© aqr international 2016 · development, he has written extensively on the topic. in 2013, he...

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