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Achieving success becomes easy when you learn how to change your mindset. Today, to thrive, having an agile mindset is crucial. A changed mindset allows you to perceive things better than a constant mindset.
You can modify your mindset or embrace a change mindset. The power to flex your mindset is something every flourishing personality has in common.
Your mindset defines you. A changed mindset comprises your renewed beliefs, values, and attitudes about yourself in your personal and professional lives. Also, your health and well-being factor highly depends on your ability to adapt and stimulate change under any condition.
Key Takeaways
- "Change mindset" sits between fixed and growth. Cyriel positions it as the operational, everyday flex that lets someone move toward a growth mindset — more agile, more open, more willing to learn. It is a mindset shift, not an organisational restructure.
- "Yes, but…" is the idea killer. The reflex response to new ideas in most workplaces is to name a reason it won't work. Swap "yes, but" for "yes, and" — and for three minutes let every idea stand without objection. 9 of 10 agenda items can still use logical thinking; use "yes, and" mode for the one that needs creativity.
- Look at the problem wearing a different hat. Ask how a logistics person would solve your recruitment problem. Or a pharma company. Or someone in New Zealand. Different perspectives surface possibilities the default lens never sees.
- Take nano actions, not perfect plans. One hour, a small amount of money, and a real attempt beats weeks of sitting behind a desk crafting the perfect strategy. Nano actions either work or teach — both beat paralysis.
- Resistance to change is 80% of people, 100% of the time. It's usually fear of the unknown — not laziness. The change mindset reframes that fear into a small first step rather than a full commitment.
- Larger organisations struggle more than older people. Cyriel has coached 22-year-olds stuck in fixed patterns and 65-year-olds open to any experiment. The bigger predictor than age is organisational rigidity — signatures, procedures, layers.
- Confidence, engagement, belonging — in that order. Employees who practice change-mindset skills get noticed, get appreciated, and feel they belong. The mental health upside is measurable.
In Cyriel's Words
On the core practice
We human beings have a tendency to judge quite quickly. Say the word "rain" and within a fraction of a second everybody has an opinion about it. We do the same with new ideas.
Go from "yes, but" to "yes, and." For three minutes, you can say whatever you want — you have all the money, all the time. After three minutes, pick the ideas that are relevant.
On experimenting without permission
Instead of sitting behind your desk trying to create the perfect plan and theory, take a nano action. You have one hour and a small amount of money. Pick up the phone, call a colleague, try it out on a very small scale — and see if it works.
We can learn more from things that go wrong than from success stories. With a success story, everybody applauds and that's it. If something doesn't go the way expected, you can talk about it.
On what changes inside the workforce
If someone has more change-mindset skills and there's a challenge, maybe they find a solution, or look at it from a different angle. People who do this get noticed by leaders and teammates. That helps them feel appreciated, more engaged, healthier.
On HR as the leverage point
Don't mind the change. Change your mind. Most of the energy and money in a change project goes into the change itself — but we can also focus on the mindset. HR professionals can spend a bit more time there — because then you have a stronger workforce, and it doesn't matter what change is happening.
About The Speaker
Cyriel Kortleven is a global professional & TEDx speaker(Making Change Simpler) and Author of 5 books. For more than 20 years, he has inspired organizations like IKEA, NASA, and Unilever to approach Change with courage, confidence, and enthusiasm.
Connect with him on LinkedIn.
Show Notes
(01:13) What is the significance of a change mindset in today’s corporate setting?
(03:05) A change in mindset sounds revolutionary and out of the box, so how do people, mostly leaders? Does the generation gap have anything to play in the picture?
(08:49) How can a change mindset redefine work culture and improve lives?
(12:28) How can one boost their creative and entrepreneurial mindset? And stimulate the mindset of the people you work with to unleash their full potential.
(24:22) What are the behavioral and mental health implications of a change mindset in the 21st century?
(26:54) Would you suggest some tips and tools help HR leaders drive behavioral change across their organization and reduce the resistance to change?
