Over the past few months, several articles have been written such as the one in Business Insider and the one in Inc where they talk about how Microsoft has applied Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset principles to support organizational growth. From that model, they developed the management framework Model, Coach, Care. I am a fan of having a growth mindset and this management framework but I believe Microsoft has the order wrong in their model.

Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care-Theodore Roosevelt.

I believe that leaders need to first show their employees that they care about them personally. Second leaders need to model the behavior that they expect from the team. It is only after leadership has done the first two that they will be effective in coaching. Most people only want to be coached by someone they trust. While being credible is important for trust, studies show that being vulnerable and showing you care is the fastest way to built trust.

Trust trumps everything. And everything flows from trust — learning, credibility, accountability, a sense of purpose, and a mission that makes ‘work’ bigger than oneself. — Deb Mills-Scofield

In the book, Radical Candor, Kim Scott says that leaders need to care deeply and then challenge directly. To her, that is the definition of radical candor. Following this model will help leaders avoid micromanagement or absentee management and move towards partnership with their team.

I believe that if you want to help your team adopt a growth mindset you need to care first and model the right behavior second. Some performance management problems are about skillset but many are solved by changing mindset. By caring first, you put your employees in the mindset to be willing to develop their skillset. Only then can you help your team change and grow. Do you agree?