When an employee struggles, what’s your default response?
How does your company really respond when someone struggles?
When an employee struggles, what’s your default response?
- Sink or swim.
- Isolate them.
- Put them on a PIP.
- Support and develop them.
How your company answers this question says everything about your culture.
In Cultures of Growth, psychologist Mary C. Murphy highlights how managers with growth-mindset beliefs approach struggle differently…
- They normalize struggle and confusion, especially when someone is learning new skills.
- They ask their teams: “What was your favorite mistake this week?”
- They invest in all employees, not just the stand-out stars.
- They recruit the whole team to help because challenges are “ours to overcome,” not one person’s mountain to summit.
That’s a culture of growth in action.
It doesn’t lower the bar.
It raises the belief that everyone can meet it.
How does your company really respond when someone struggles?
And what does that reveal about your culture?