Work in Progresses: Mindset and Growth

Reading mindset material is something I’ve only started to enjoy over the last couple of years and, with this in mind, I wanted to start a series of blog posts on this subject to explore it more intentionally. This first part is a dive into The Fifth Discipline book, by Peter Senge and we will be sticking with this book over the coming weeks.

I’ve been covering this material for the last couple of years, and I want this series to be a space where I continue to learn out loud whilst bringing you, the reader, along with me.

The Fifth Discipline is the perfect starting point because it blends mindset, behaviour, and systems thinking into one framework. It gives language to things many of us experience every day but rarely stop to question. My plan over the next few iterations of the blog, is to break down the big ideas from the book, share how they land with me, and explore how they might help us build better habits, teams, and ways of working.

First of all, which to choose?

The Fifth Discipline and The Fifth Discipline: Fieldbook are very similar and it’s easy to get them confused. For context, I will be using the Fieldbook (it’s red, not black), but there is no harm in reading the original either.

The Fifth Discipline – theory	The Fieldbook – a practical guide
The Fifth Discipline explains the core ideas behind learning organisations, blending mindset, behaviour, and systems thinking to show how our assumptions shape how we work, learn, and grow individually and as teams.	The Fieldbook is the practical companion, turning Senge’s concepts into action through tools, exercises, and real examples. It focuses on applying the five disciplines in everyday work to build better habits and stronger teams.

In short:
The Fifth Discipline tells you what and why.
The Fieldbook shows you how.

For me, I’ve found the tasks in the Fieldbook to be the most valuable, but if you’re struggling with a concept, it might be worth referring back to the original.

What I’ve Read So Far

I’ve read this as part of a workplace discussion and only covered two disciplines so far: Personal Mastery and Mental Models. But I’ve explored both in great detail. I want to share the fresh, raw reflections with you before reading any further (or even making the decision to read further so if you’ve read it, let me know if it’s worthwhile).

Personal Mastery was the starting point for me, and it’s where we will be exploring next in this series. This discipline is the foundation of all five disciplines, and without it you’ll struggle to grasp the concepts and apply them day to day. It’s deeply connected to self awareness and how we think overall. It offers ideas like creative tension and current reality – which you’ll explore next time (so stay tuned).

Closing Thoughts

I’m still early in my Fifth Discipline journey, but that’s why it feels so important to share these thoughts now. Every time you read it, you take something new away, so I wanted to start to share the learning as it unfolds. They’re unpolished and honest but that is all part of the personal journey. Next time, we will take a look at Personal Mastery – the foundational discipline, that’s central to how we grow. If you’ve read the book yourself, I’d love to know what you think of it!