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Growth Mindset is a Team Sport
Unlike most theories on Growth Mindset, the Safe2Great model makes relationships the key focus of development and expanding potential. Connection is also an essential intrinsic motivator.
Personal and Relational Growth in the ‘Safe to Great’ Mindset
Carol Dweck’s breakthrough on the concept of a growth mindset revolutionized how we think about learning and development. By emphasizing the power of effort, resilience, and adaptability, she showed how individuals can grow their abilities and intelligence through continuous learning.
This perspective, while transformative, simplifies the growth process by focusing primarily on individual effort and self-determination. It portrays personal growth as something achieved largely through one’s own hard work and internal motivation.
However, Skip Bowman’s Safe to Great model challenges this more individualistic view by placing relationships at the core of growth. Bowman’s approach suggests that while personal effort is vital, true development happens most effectively within the context of strong, supportive relationships.
He shows that connection is not just an added bonus but a key driver of both individual and collective potential.

Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset: A Focus on the Individual
Dweck’s work was revolutionary in shifting the common understanding of human potential. Her growth mindset model demonstrated that intelligence and talent are not fixed traits, but qualities that can be developed through effort, perseverance, and embracing challenges. This mindset encourages people to view failure as a learning opportunity and to focus on self-improvement rather than seeing their abilities as predetermined.
The simplicity and power of this model lie in its focus on the individual. Growth, according to Dweck, comes from within—by cultivating a mindset that embraces learning, one can achieve personal success. While this is an incredibly valuable approach, it largely centers on internal factors: how one views challenges, responds to failure, and persists in the face of obstacles. This makes the growth process an individual pursuit, where progress is measured by personal effort and development.
Skip Bowman’s Growth Mindset: The Relational Dimension
Bowman builds upon Dweck’s model but takes it a step further by expanding growth into the realm of relationships. In the Safe to Great framework, personal growth is just one part of the equation. Relational growth—how we influence, support, and elevate others—is equally essential. Bowman emphasizes that growth is amplified through our connections with others, and that our potential is most fully realized when we work together in collaborative environments.
In this relational view, success is not just about personal achievement but also about creating a culture where people lift each other up. It’s about fostering relationships that enable mutual support, shared learning, and collective advancement. While Dweck’s model emphasizes the internal process of growth, Bowman focuses on how that growth is catalyzed by strong relationships, teamwork, and shared goals.
Personal Growth Mindset: The Core
Both Dweck’s and Bowman’s models recognize the importance of personal growth as the foundation of any development journey. Personal growth involves challenging one’s own beliefs, overcoming internal limitations, and continuously striving for self-improvement. Like Dweck’s framework, Safe to Great values personal effort, resilience, and the willingness to learn from failure.
However, Bowman’s approach insists that personal growth is most powerful when it intertwines with relational dynamics. In the Safe to Great mindset, personal growth contributes to and is enriched by the growth of others. This is where the individualistic approach expands into something much larger.
Relational Growth Mindset: The Multiplier
Where Bowman significantly diverges from Dweck’s model is in his emphasis on relational growth. He argues that our potential is not just defined by how hard we work individually, but by how we collaborate and connect with others. In relational growth, success is not a solo endeavor—it is achieved by creating an environment where everyone thrives.
This growth is about fostering teams and communities where learning is a shared experience. It acknowledges that, while individual effort is important, the support, feedback, and collaboration we receive from others are key multipliers of our potential. This makes relational growth a more holistic approach to development, one that includes the well-being and success of those around us.
The Interplay of Personal and Relational Growth
While Dweck’s model largely focuses on the individual’s internal process, Bowman’s Safe to Great mindset highlights the powerful interplay between personal and relational growth. In Bowman’s view, personal development is enhanced by strong relationships, and those relationships, in turn, benefit from the growth of each individual. This creates a feedback loop where personal and collective growth fuel each other.
Bowman shifts the growth mindset from an “I” perspective—focused on self-achievement—to a “We” perspective, where shared experiences, mutual support, and teamwork drive success. This dual focus on personal and relational growth creates a more comprehensive model for development, particularly in leadership and organizational contexts.
A Transformative Shift: Beyond the Individual
The Safe to Great model is not just about individual transformation but about creating a culture where growth is collective. It advocates for learning, adaptability, and progressive thinking as values shared by everyone in the organization or team. This contrasts with Dweck’s individualistic focus by emphasizing that our development is deeply intertwined with the relationships we cultivate.
Bowman’s framework creates an environment where personal success is aligned with the success of others, fostering a culture where everyone contributes to, and benefits from, collective advancement. This relational focus ensures that growth is not just about self-improvement but about lifting others up, leading to a larger, organizational transformation.
Conclusion: Growing Together with Safe to Great
Carol Dweck made an important breakthrough by showing how individuals can unlock their potential through a growth mindset. However, Skip Bowman’s Safe to Great model adds depth by shifting the focus to relational growth, showing how true transformation happens through our interactions with others. Bowman’s approach offers a holistic pathway for those ready to embark on a growth journey that is not just personal but collective.
In the Safe to Great framework, growth is not confined to individual effort—it is amplified through collaboration, shared learning, and the power of relationships. This model redefines what it means to grow, advocating for a culture where we grow stronger and better together.