Growth Mindset in Myanmar: From “Change is Scary” to “Change is Good”
Sometimes the best kind of innovation is seeing things differently.
Meet Chit Ko Ko. He is the backbone of Proximity’s purchasing department, where he has worked for over 11 years. When he started at Proximity at 24 years old, he often biked for miles through dusty Yangon to purchase supplies for the warehouse. These days, he has worked his way up to senior leader status, managing a purchasing team and longstanding supplier relationships.
Two years ago, Chit Ko Ko wanted to quit. Managing his team required many tough decisions and the suppliers were constantly late. He didn’t tell anybody about his woes because he felt anadeh, a Myanmar cultural habit of feeling bad for embarrassing or disappointing another person.
He couldn’t let his team down, but he didn’t know what to do.
Each month, 80,000 couplers and connecters were supposed to arrive from a vendor called U Myint Saung. And each month, they were late. As production for the micro-irrigation line slowed down, his manager grew impatient.
Under stress from his manager, he chased the vendor for the components. “We need the components. They’re five days late. Why aren’t they ready?”
U Myint Saung replied, “We are busy with many orders. Find another vendor if this isn’t going to work out.”
Chit Ko Ko couldn’t afford to lose a trusted vendor, but he was determined to find a solution.
What Chit Ko Ko needed was empathy. When he neglected to consider U Myint Saung’s point of view, he had a fixed mindset. Meanwhile, U Myint Saung could only think about the endless power cuts (a common occurrence in Myanmar), employees leaving without notice, and inflated raw material prices.
To be happier at work, Chit Ko Ko needed to develop a growth mindset, a term coined by researcher Carol Dweck that means approaching achievement with a positive attitude, rather than focusing on the failures: “I can try, learn and grow,” instead of “I can’t do this.”
This is particularly common problem in Myanmar, where the education method is rote learning. After decades of memorizing entire textbooks, students are just beginning to break free from the “teacher is always right, don’t ask questions” mentality.
As a social enterprise that focuses on farmers in Myanmar, Proximity encouraged its employees to think of ways to use simple yet innovative approaches to learning and connecting with people. In 2015, we relaunched Proximity School, an idea that was 10 years in the making.
Last September, Chit Ko Ko signed up for a Growth Mindset class. He hoped to learn something that would make his job easier.
Each class is an eight-hour day of activities designed to refine the thought process. There are four classes in core training: Growth Mindset, Feedback, Difficult Conversations, and a finale, which are held over four months so people have time to practice what they have learned. Between quizzes and case studies, he learned how to apply this positive thinking in real-life situations.
At some point during those four months, something clicked. Chit Ko Ko thought, Could I find a different method to understand and communicate with U Myint Saung?
Since his conversation with U Myint Saung two years ago, he kept silent to avoid conflict but still ordered extra units to buffer late deliveries. Chit Ko Ko realized he could reform the way his team communicated with all vendors.
So, he mustered up the courage to call a warehouse meeting with the vendor, his managers and production team. He invited each person to address their concerns about the couplers and connectors. Then, they discussed future purchase orders and drafted a new contract.
After the meeting, they signed the new contract, which accounted for fluctuating plastic prices and listed tangible consequences for delays.
The two parties did something very simple: they listened to each other and solved a problem together.
Listening creates empathy, and it makes solving problems 100 times easier.
“In the past, I was only concerned with my own objective, instead of helping my team achieve their objectives. Now, I understand that if they win, I win. We achieve more together,” Chit Ko Ko said.
He strengthened his team dynamic and supplier relationships just by being receptive to feedback.
This refined mindset seeped into his personal life, too. Feeling inspired, he copied the growth mindset worksheets for his team and encouraged them to take the class. He even gave a copy to his wife. For the first time in 11 years, he felt like he could overcome any challenges, big or small.
“It’s more than a professional change. My wife and I help each other grow every day,” Chit Ko Ko said.
Before, Chit Ko Ko would have felt anadeh expressing his opinions and asking others for feedback. These days, he views the discomfort as growth.
“A growth mindset is beneficial for anyone, anywhere, in any situation. Now, I think carefully before I act. I ask myself, ‘How will my words or actions impact the other person?’”
Proximity continues to teach these classes to all of its employees. When leaders like Chit Ko Ko reflect on past actions and use what they learned, challenges become opportunities. They have the courage to see things differently.
Proximity Designs is an award-winning, farmer-focused social enterprise based in Yangon, Myanmar. Learn more at http://www.proximitydesigns.org
