SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 200,000 business leaders. We run the poll question each week in our newsletter.
How do most leaders in your organization view the world?
- An abundance mindset: There’s plenty of rewards to go around, so focus on making the pie bigger: 53.93%
- A scarcity mindset: There’s only so much to go around, so you should fight for a bigger share of the pie: 46.07%
There’s plenty for everyone. While an abundance mindset is more prevalent, it’s not by much. For the 46% of you living in a scarcity mindset, recognize the anxiety it causes and the innovation it stifles. Only seeing what is available today prevents creativity, partnerships, and expanded opportunities. Challenge yourself to ask how you can make the pie bigger for yourself. Are there organizations you can partner with to get into new markets, products, or services? Are there new customers you can serve? Are there new projects you can propose internally that could create promotion opportunities for people?
Stop limiting yourself to what is going on today. Every time you hear someone propose a limit, see if you can think of ways to expand that boundary. You won’t be able to do it for everything but you may surprise yourself with how big you can make the pie!
Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS, which includes TITAN — the firm’s e-learning platform. Previously, he worked at McKinsey & Co., Capital One and Scotts Miracle-Gro. He is a West Point graduate and author of three leadership books: “One Piece of Paper,” “Lead Inside the Box” and “The Elegant Pitch.”