Feeling Stuck? Help Your Team Pivot to a Growth Mindset

The Top Line:

The concept of a growth mindset isn’t new, but applying it specifically to nonprofits and volunteer engagement might be. 

In this post, we explore how to help volunteers, and the co-workers who lead them, ditch the fixed mindsets that hold them back. You will learn how to adopt a growth mentality that helps question knee-jerk resistance to change and reconsider that bright, positive world of possibility.

Read on to Discover:
The Origins of the Growth Mindset
Volunteer Supervision & the Growth Mindset
Coaching a Growth Mindset Transformation

The Origins of the Growth Mindset

The idea of a growth mindset was first developed by psychologist Carol Dweck and popularized in her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, back in 2007. Her original research was geared toward helping students overcome learning challenges. More specifically, her research explored whether a shift in mindset could change learning outcomes. 

Purchase your own copy of Dweck’s book through VolPro’s Amazon affiliate link HERE>> (As an Amazon Associate, VolPro earns from qualifying purchases.)

Dweck found that when students understood that their brains were malleable and that their intelligence, and therefore achievement, was not destined, they changed how they approached their schoolwork, adopting what she coined a “growth mindset.” 

Indeed, more recent neuroscience research shows that the human brain is far more changeable than we realized. Research displays how connectivity between neurons can change with experience, growing new connections, strengthening existing ones, and building insulation that speeds the transmission of information. It’s now become common knowledge that we have more control over our brain’s plasticity than we ever realized. 

Dr. Dweck’s team also found that a teacher’s support had an impact on supporting the growth versus fixed mindset. For example, praise that told children they were smart encouraged a fixed mindset. Additionally, praising children for hard work and effort cultivated a growth mindset. Thus, these efforts created positive results. 

Imagine how nonprofit staff might help worried volunteers build their confidence in their ability to take on a task simply by changing what words they use to support them. 

By encouraging a growth mindset, staff can help volunteers overcome their fixed mindset doubts about their current personal capacities (e.g., the ability to learn to use modern technology tools) and replace them with enabling beliefs that everyone can grow into new skills and abilities. 

For more on how our mindsets directly impacts our work with volunteers, check out Volunteer Nation Podcast Episode #023: Secrets to Managing Time and Energy HERE>> 

Volunteer Supervision & the Growth Mindset

At VolunteerPro, we see fixed mindsets in both nonprofit employees and volunteers as they are presented with an organization’s ability to embrace change.  

A growth mindset views intelligence, abilities, and talents as learnable and capable of improvement through effort. So, when staff do not embrace change, they may still be stuck in a fixed mindset.   

Instead of the potential for change, they may believe that people are born with innate talents and can’t make the transformation required, even if they put effort into it. Similarly, they may have a fixed mindset that views the organization itself as inherently stable (“we’ve always done it this way”) and unchangeable over time. 

For example, when they are resistant to bringing on volunteers and they’ve had a difficult experience with a volunteer in the past who has not met expectations, they may doubt their ability to achieve a better result. They may also view their efficiency as far superior to volunteers – “it’s just easier if I do it myself”). This represents a fixed mindset that views change as impossible.  

However, equipped with a growth mindset, that same employee might see things differently. They might recognize that the more engaged volunteers are in their department, the more likely they will be to scale their work. They might also understand that, as a supervisor, they are complicit in the outcomes of the people they supervise and that a change in how they support volunteers might result in improved performance. 

A growth mindset can also help employees see that individual volunteers can grow with the proper training, support, coaching, and tools. As human beings, if we have a will for change, transformation will happen.  

When an employee has a fixed mindset about the potential of volunteer talent, then they don’t bother to have the kinds of crucial conversations they need to help volunteers improve. They neglect to offer clear, kind feedback that volunteers need. 

For more tips on how to lead volunteers, check out Volunteer Supervision: It’s Time to Ditch Nagging in Favor of Inspiring HERE >> 

Coaching a Growth Mindset Transformation

Recognizing and Reframing Fixed Mindsets

In the shift from fixed to growth mindsets among co-workers and volunteers, the first step is awareness—both of your own mindset and of those around you. This means being attuned to the subtle ways limiting beliefs show up in daily conversations and decision-making.

A helpful coaching approach is to gently challenge these beliefs without direct confrontation. For instance, at VolunteerPro, we employ a business coach. The coach often responds to our limiting statements with a simple, “If you say so.” It’s a non-judgmental invitation to pause and ask, Is this really impossible? Or am I just afraid or unsure?

Most things are possible with enough time, energy, and the right resources. The goal isn’t to pursue every idea, but to shift from defaulting to “no” to asking, “Could this work?” A growth mindset means considering possibilities before dismissing them—and helping others do the same.

Coaching Others Toward Growth

When encouraging a growth mindset in others, especially in a team or volunteer setting, your role becomes that of a coach. Instead of pointing out fixed mindsets directly, help your team ask better questions that lead to action and discovery.

Try using language that opens up possibilities:

“I think there’s room for growth here. Would you be willing to explore solutions and even make a bet on one? What would we need to do to succeed? How could I support you?”

Or:

“What changes would be most helpful to you? What can we do together? Are you willing to try, even if the results aren’t perfect?”

This kind of dialogue helps teammates feel safe to experiment and to learn from the process. It creates a culture where perfection isn’t the goal—progress is. As a leader, your expansive, possibility-focused language fosters the confidence to take smart risks and build momentum.

Practicing Growth Mindset in Your Own Leadership

Just as we coach others, we must also coach ourselves. That means identifying where our own limiting beliefs are holding us back. Thoughts like, “I’m not a tech person,” or “I hate giving bad news,” can quietly sabotage our ability to lead effectively.

A growth mindset doesn’t demand perfection. It says, “I can improve,” or, “Maybe someone else is better suited for this task, and that’s okay.” It allows for delegation, development, and resilience.

When planning changes to your volunteer program or launching new initiatives, stay alert for fixed mindset thinking—especially phrases like, “We’ve tried that before and it didn’t work.” Instead, ask:

Is it possible this could work now?
What would need to change?
What’s different this time?

By continually challenging assumptions, you create space for new opportunities to emerge. Over time, this mindset shift will ripple out to your volunteers and organization—building a culture grounded in learning, growth, and purpose-driven action.

Final Thoughts on Feeling Stuck? Help Your Team Pivot to a Growth Mindset:

The concept of a growth mindset isn’t new. It is a transformative tool in nonprofits where volunteer management is key. In this post, we explored practical ways to help both volunteers and the staff who lead them move beyond fixed mindsets that limit progress. By adopting a growth-oriented approach, you can start to question automatic resistance to change and open the door to new possibilities, smarter risks, and stronger, more resilient teams.

 Reinforce Your Decisions with Hard Data

When you’re at a fork in the road, sometimes it’s hard to choose a direction. Data can help. Our 2025 Volunteer Management Progress Report includes the data you need to understand how your organization compares to others who engage volunteers. 

In this annual state-of-the-industry survey, we cover the following topics:

1. Recruitment tactics that organizations currently use to attract volunteers

2. The most effective recruitment strategies

3. Comparative recruitment benchmarks

4. The most popular websites for posting volunteer opportunities

5. To what extent an organization uses paid advertising

6. Current salaries for leaders of volunteers and whether they have improved

7. Key challenges and trends for leaders of volunteers

Use the survey results to reflect on your current volunteer engagement practices, benchmark your results, and advocate for change. Got questions or want to be a distribution partner for next year’s survey? Email us at wecare@volpro.net to learn how! 

Grab your FREE copy of the 2025 Volunteer Management Progress Report HERE>>