Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 44 to 50
For a long time, it was thought that the answer for the question ―where does excellence come from?‖ hinged, in large part, upon talent. Hard work may be important but if you don‘t have the ability, you are never going to become top class. It is the notion that high-level performers have excellence encoded in their DNA.
It turns out that this point of view is mistaken. Dozens of studies have found that high-flyers across all disciplines learn no faster than those who reach lower levels of attainment – hour after hour, they improve at almost identical rates. The difference is simply that high achievers practise for more hours. Further research has shown that when students seem to possess a particular gift, it is often because they have been given extra tuition at home.
The question of talent versus practice/experience would not matter much if it was merely theoretical. But it is much more than that. It influences the way we think and feel, and the way we engage with our world. And it determines our motivation. To see how, consider an employee who believes success is all about talent – this is known as the ‗fixed mindset‘. Why would they bother to work hard? If they have the right genes, won‘t they just cruise to the top? And if they lack talent, well, why bother at all? And who can blame someone for having this kind of attitude, given the underlying premise? If, on the other hand, they really believe that practice trumps talent — the ‗growth mindset‘ — they will persevere. They will see failure as an opportunity to adapt and grow. And if they are right, they will eventually excel. What we decide about the nature of talent, then, could scarcely be more important.
So, how to create a growth mindset within an organisation? Interventions which have presented participants with the powerful evidence of how excellence derived from perseverance – which explains the possibility of personal transformation – have had a dramatic impact on motivation and performance. When this is allied with clearly identifiable pathways from shop floor to top floor, so that employees can see the route ahead, these results are strengthened further.
Which is the most suitable title for the passage?
