What does it really mean to have an Abundance Mindset?
In his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, Stephen Covey described it as believing that “the world is full of enough resources and time for you to accomplish your goals.” Tony Robbins described it as “… the opposite of jealousy and fear. You believe that other’s successes don’t detract from your own.”
To completely understand Abundance it is important to remember the opposite of abundance is Scarcity, believing that there is not enough to go around so you have to take/grab as much as you possibly can so that somebody else can’t. Scarcity leads us to believe that we can only succeed if someone else fails.
To be an Abundant Leader, or to Lead with Abundance, you must first believe in these definitions of abundance, primarily that there are enough resources in the world for you and your business/team/family to succeed regardless of anyone else’s attempts to succeed. There is enough to go around.
Before we discuss Abundant Behaviors for Leaders, let’s remind ourselves what it means to be a Leader. First of all, remember that leaders Lead People, and managers Manage Processes. Leaders set the Vision and Goals, and Enroll and Inspire the team to adopt them as their own. So you can see how an Abundant Mindset goes a long way towards effective leadership.
Here are my Top 3 Leadership Behaviors that encourage Abundance:
1 – Think Big and Long-Term.
The leader’s job is to paint a picture of what things can/will look like far in the future. Without a 5 year or 10 year plan, how will we know if the 1-3 year plan is the right one? Leader’s push us to believe in the possible, and guide us to think what CAN we do to achieve it instead of what we CAN’T do.
2 – Embrace Change, Don’t Fear It.
The only way to accomplish more in the long-term is to change how we go about doing things. Just look at the rapid advancements accomplished as a result of the pandemic – and look at which businesses just survived vs the businesses that thrived. The key to survival was embracing the need to change. The leaders with vision and an abundance mindset took their teams and businesses in whole new directions at times. They didn’t let fear and scarcity thinking get in the way.
3 – Be Proactive.
Abundant leaders get out ahead of the crowd, knowing that there will be plenty of resources they take leaps of faith to grow, change and succeed. They look ahead, plan ahead and regularly review the short-term plans and results against the long-term vision and strategy.
If you would like to spend a day with a room full of abundant business owners and leaders, join our next GrowthCLUB workshop and create your plan for the next quarter of growth and abundance in your business.
Author: Mark McNulty, Business Coach in Louisville, KY