Thinking Outside the Box: Embracing a Growth Mindset Demonstrated Through the Actions of a Flower Girl

Recently I attended the wedding of a dear family member. My daughter was part of the wedding party so that made the experience extra meaningful. The wedding had all the makings of a traditional wedding —beautiful bride, teary groom, and the cutest flower girl and ring-bearer. And it had an ordered processional with the flower girl holding the ringbearer’s hand while holding her basket of petals with the other. About a quarter of the way down the aisle the flower girl discovered something. Her job required three hands. As she stopped dead in her tracks you could see the wheels turning.

In that moment it struck me that this is what employees in the workplace are like. When you or when team members discover they lack the resources to get the job done they are stopped dead in their tracks. Given the pressure filled and time constrained job the flower girl had to accomplish, she didn’t have the luxury to call a meeting, complain to her leader about the scarce resources, or walk-off the job. What she needed was an answer; how to accomplish the task requiring three hands while having only two available.

On Saturday watching a flower girl the power of thinking outside the box became the day’s life lesson. In her moment of greatest need this 3-year-old accomplished what many of us fail to achieve. She however, embraced the growth mindset and saw possibilities where others see dead ends. In today’s marketplace there is a growing need for employees to adapt their thinking to change behaviors quickly. This requires creating new pathways into the brain to improve the ways we work and the ways we get work done.

So how did the flower girl do it? She put the handle of the basket in her mouth and then clenched onto it with her teeth as she distributed the petals with her right hand, never losing the grip she had on the ring bearer with her left hand. In that instance, her brain created a new pathway, increased the capacity to perform the task producing the result and achieving her potential. Not to mention the affection of the audience who erupted into a collective cheer cementing her “cuteness” almost upstaging the bride.

If we as learners and as leaders, can embrace the ability of creating new pathways into our brain, there is more we all can accomplish. Where are new pathways required and how can we let go of the well-worn, tried but used up old ways of behaving? It’s time to expand our thinking, realize growth is waiting growth, and achieving more while living satisfied and fulfilled lives is just around the corner. This little 3-year-old flower girl did it.