Growth Mindset Workshop: Hero of Oz

Your host explains the workshop, sets up the world of Oz, introduces the concept of psychological capital and the H.E.R.O acronym that serves as the foundation for the workshop, and the group plays a survey game to document people’s perspective when starting the workshop.

The host gives an overview of “Hope Theory” through the framing of the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz. Through a guided divergent thinking exercise and collaborative brainstorming, your team will learn how to move past mental roadblocks and build a practical toolkit of pathways to reach their professional goals.

Based on the Cowardly Lion’s journey toward courage, this activity explores "Self-Efficacy" through Dr. Albert Bandura’s four sources of confidence: mastery, modeling, encouragement, and physical well-being. Participants will identify a professional challenge that feels "risky" and develop a personalized, small-step action plan to build the genuine nerve needed to step up and speak out.

Focusing on the "Wicked" art of the bounce-back, this activity introduces the concept of cognitive reappraisal to help participants reframe workplace setbacks. Attendees will learn to identify their automatic negative stories and intentionally rewrite them into more useful, growth-oriented narratives that fuel professional resilience.

Drawing inspiration from the Tin Man’s journey, this activity explores "Learned Optimism" by teaching participants how to use the 3 P’s—Personalization, Permanence, and Pervasiveness—to explain their successes. Through an interactive "Oz-style" game, your team will practice shifting from a pessimistic mindset to a realistic, flexible style that builds confidence for future challenges.

The host summarizes the workshop’s takeaways, leads a discussion to debrief the relevance of the workshop, and the host leads a final survey to illustrate the power of a growth mindset.