Recently, I've found myself mentoring many interns who, still attending college, quite naturally bring the mindset of a student with them when they enter the workplace. It's the interns who break free from this mindset 'early doors' who really shine. In addition to my day job, I've been playing the student myself, exploring new hobbies and signing up for training courses, which has given me fresh insight into the 'student mindset'.
As far as I’m concerned, the hallmarks of this student mentality, imprinted by an exam-oriented educational system, include:
Single-mindedness and Authoritativeness. The 'one correct answer' mentality and reverence towards teacher's authority limit personal creativity and investigations into the truth of things.
Time Constraints. Perceived as tick-box exercises that need to be done within set boundaries, like norms asserting that at a certain age, you must be of a certain height, or able to run 800m within a set time.
Going Solo. The emphasized importance of doing all tasks and homework on your own, while cheating or asking others for help—though often the norm in real-world team collaborations—is frowned upon.
What happens when this 'student mentality' is carried into the workplace or into hobby pursuits?
At work, it turns daily grind into an exchange of assignments, success fettered by finding the single 'correct' answer, or eagerly awaiting approval and full marks from leaders–possibly hamstringing both your professional growth and your potential to add true value to the business.
Pursuing hobbies with a student mentality often results in self-doubt, particularly in the early stages, which can ruin the fun of exploring something new.
Deploying the student mindset to the working context can restrict your ability to create extra value for the business.
When I allocate a task to an intern, they often treat it as an assignment to be finished on their own, and await my review in the same way a student awaits grading on their exam paper.
Sticking strictly to self-reliant completion can spawn unwelcome surprises should there be a major misunderstanding right at the beginning, or no confirmation sought from the team leader in time.
A case in point might be preparing for an event keynote; it's quite unlikely that the content is finalized in one go, but if there's significant misunderstanding of the framing in the first place and too much time spent on beautifying slides instead of obtaining timely feedback from the team leader, it will end up being redone.
In reality, work is driven by business value, not leader’s assessment. Especially in fast-paced, innovation-seeking tech firms, leaders are often also handed challenges for the first time, which makes their large direction setting helpful but not necessarily always down-to-modified specifics. Their work methodology or existing SOPs may not be the optimal ones - it's bringing in personal thought, aiming at creating business value, that really shifts the work further forward.
In my interactions with interns, I've spared no effort in sharing my previous experiences, reminding them time and again not only to see themselves as mere interns, but above and beyond - as 'explorers', 'leaders' and 'creators', who are willing and able to think outside their student box.
A student mindset in the world of hobbies equates to a mental ball and chain that holds back one's enthusiasm and faith in own abilities.
When I'm not working, I take dance lessons, language classes, and lots even drum lessons. As the process naturally involves teachers and students interaction, I’ve had really seen another side to the student experience.
Normally, the dance studio involves taking videos after each lesson, not only to enjoy later but also to spot any faults with movements.
I remember vividly my first lesson—struggling to follow, failing to remember movements—the teacher firmly pointed at me: "You should not take videos", she said, maybe she was afraid I would ruin her good results. I took her advice then being the newbie with little knowledge, but reflecting back I purely can't help grimacing.
Fast forward to the present—I must have taken more than 200 lessons, experiencing a variety of teachers—some of them greatly encourage video recording among students in order to aid their learning process, instructing them not to fear if they can’t remember the movements, or feel concerned that the movements did not look good. As it is through recorded videos, facing the embarrassment of twisting body movements, that one can enhance their skill and aesthetics.
In reality, we, as attendees, pay to take pleasure out of the sessions and to feel jazzed. Instead of letting such a 'good’ grading system make ourselves less and less confident, just for the sake of dance and fun!
I am genuinely thankful to everyone from whom I've learned something new, be they school teachers, friends by my side, or colleagues at work, etc. The student mindset, leaving limitations within the confines of classroom's four walls, might belittle our maturity chances. After all, life equals to nature's giant classroom. So, time to enjoy! : )