Episode Details

Jeff Hittenberger: Orange County Department of Education

Jeff Hittenberger is the Chief Academic Officer for the Orange County Department of Education. In this conversation, Jeff and Dave discuss the value of growth mindset for leaders, how the Orange County Department of Education is helping employees develop with it, and Jeff’s own personal journey to bring it into his work and life.

Key Points

• If you don’t deal with things on a personal level, they will oftentimes negatively affect your work.
• It is important to cultivate emotional intelligence in the workplace.
• A growth mindset will help you overcome a sense of despair because it gives you a sense of agency.
• Learning about the growth mindset as a team will give you a common language to communicate with.
• Poor reactions to a problem can make the problem even bigger.
• Learning about emotional intelligence while in the workplace will also help outside of work.
• Learning about a growth mindset and emotional intelligence takes time; it can’t be a one-shot deal.

Resources Mentioned

• The Growth of the Mind* by Stanley Greenspan
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success* by Carol Dweck
• Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ* by Daniel Goleman
• What Got You Here Won’t Get You There* by Marshall Goldsmith

Related Episodes

• Six Mistakes Leaders Make Sending People to Training (episode 30)
• Three Strategies To Build Talent In Your Organization, with Mark Allen (episode 155)
• The Way to Make New Behaviors Stick, with Marshall Goldsmith (episode 196)

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