Grow Your People

Grow Your People connects a change with the identity people value and the capabilities they can develop. The method makes a new behaviour feel less like compliance with an external demand and more like evidence of who people are becoming.

When to use it

• Strengthen a change by linking it to a respected identity.
• Sustain effort when learning produces setbacks.
• Reframe “this is not who we are” resistance without dismissing legitimate concerns.
• Build confidence while new skills develop through practice.

Origins

The method brings together two established streams of psychology: identity-based motivation, which examines how a sense of self directs action, and growth-mindset research, which examines beliefs about whether ability can develop. Change writers later combined these ideas into a practical leadership pattern: activate a relevant identity and interpret difficulty as part of learning.

What it is

There are two reinforcing parts. First, surface an authentic identity that supports the desired behaviour—such as inventor, professional, protector, learner or college-bound student. Second, cultivate a growth mindset so that difficulty becomes information about what to practise, not proof that change is impossible. Identity supplies meaning; learning orientation supports persistence.