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Some people find smart alecks annoying, including Satya Nadella. When he took over as CEO of Microsoft a decade ago, Nadella was known for shaking things up and encouraging his employees to think differently.
Instead of being complacent, Nadella believed that Microsoft had to “stay humble, stay hungry, and exhibit a growth mindset,” as he told Fortune’s Jeremy Kahn.
Those who have a growth mindset believe that they can develop their basic abilities through dedication and hard work, according to Carol Dweck, the Stanford psychologist who coined the term in 2015. This is in contrast to a fixed mindset, where people believe that their skills are innate or fixed qualities, or that success is solely based on talent.
Nadella firmly believes in the power of a growth mindset. In the rapidly changing tech industry where AI is reshaping the landscape, being willing to adapt and learn is essential.
The concept of a growth mindset has become a central theme at Microsoft, moving from textbooks to the speeches of company executives. The shift from being a “know-it-all” to a “learn-it-all” is a key part of Nadella’s vision for the company culture.
Being a learn-it-all at Microsoft means embracing upskilling, as stated in a company blog post. It’s challenging to acquire new skills in an environment that believes there is nothing more to learn.
“If you take two kids in school, one with more innate ability but a know-it-all attitude, and the other with less innate ability but a learn-it-all attitude, the learn-it-all will outperform the know-it-all,” said Nadella during a podcast in 2019.
This shift in mindset is evident not only in the company culture but also in the software itself. Microsoft no longer imposes its entire tech stack on developers. Instead, developers have the freedom to choose features to implement and provide feedback on what they would like to see from the company.
“Azure caters to them; they are the customers, and they will continue to use it if they find it valuable and enjoyable,” explained Scott Hanselman, Microsoft’s vice president of developer community.
Nadella is not the only one advocating for continuous learning. Kathleen Hogan, Chief People Officer at Microsoft, described the challenges of implementing this new way of working in 2019. It was a difficult transition for some who preferred a simpler narrative of “this is good, that is bad.” Instead of dismissing the past, Hogan emphasized the importance of evolving to stay relevant in the future.
As Nadella enters another decade of leadership, he remains committed to the idea of continual growth and adaptability.
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