The difference between scarcity and abundance mindsets explains a lot about why we get the best or worst out of people.
A scarcity mindset can result in some pretty awful actions, like those of Harvey Weinstein or Larry Nassar. An abundance mindset can enable the most extraordinary actions, like those of Malala Yousafzai, or the many heroes who went back into the massacre in Las Vegas to save more lives. If you want to inspire people to do more than they ever thought possible, encourage a mindset of abundance.
Mindset is the set of assumptions, or givens, that establish the ground rules for how things work. Often mindsets are implicit, the unstated laws that dictate how we act. In many ways, it’s the underlying mindset that determines how people act.
Scarcity mindsets are dominated by fear, dominance, and limits. In a culture of scarcity, the only way to win is for someone else to lose. Abundance mindsets are characterized by growth, creativity, and openness. In abundant cultures, everyone wins and there’s more to go around.
Given a choice we would all want to live in abundance.
Women’s gymnastics offers an extreme example of a scarcity mindset—the fear that someone will take away what you have. Every Olympic gymnast has a perfect 10 on the balance beam the second she salutes the judges to begin. From that moment forward, the judges subtract for every wobble, every deviation from the ideal from the height of her back flip to the angle of her pinkie. They perform in fear of being anything short of ideal. As we have all seen with the extraordinary trial of Larry Nassar, this mindset and the resulting culture of fear pervaded every facet of life for elite gymnasts.
On the extreme other hand, compare that to dog shows, where judges award points only on merit, on what dogs do well rather than how they fall short. Simply put, the better the dog, the more points they get. No doubt, dogs and their handlers engage in fierce competition for points. This in no way diminishes civility, a juxtaposition that invites humor. Sure, we can make fun of them, and they’ll laugh right along with us. In a culture of abundance, a good laugh never gets in the way of working doggedly to win.
The good news is that mindsets can and do change.
In the 1950’s, the entire USA had an abundance mindset. In spite of real social problems, there was an overwhelming sense of infinite possibility, literally that we could reach for the moon. Now, ten years after a punishing market fall and recession, the US mindset is still dominated by a sense of scarcity, in spite of an expanding economy. We have not yet shaken the fear that resources are short. Many people feel justified in taking even extreme or dire measures to protect precious values or resources.
These cycles of change occur naturally over long periods of time. With dedication and intention, we can create change over a shorter period at the level of nations, organizations, or even ourselves.
To change the mindset of an organization intentionally is no easy task. Standard Bank of Africa offers a case study in successful culture change, according to Scaled Agile:
“To affect culture change is like pulling out a rubber band,” explains Josef Langerman, Head of Engineering and IT Transformation at Standard Bank. “When the band is relaxed, it returns to its previous comfortable state. One has to exert energy again to pull it out. By doing this repeatedly and in different ways, the band gets softer and more stretched out. Similarly, culture needs continued effort and reliance on many techniques to move it to a new comfortable or desired state. There is no silver bullet.”
The same is true for individuals.
Even if you are in a culture of scarcity, you can work for a more positive outcome personally if you cultivate abundance in your own mindset. It will help you be more creative, exert more effort toward successful goals, and might even inspire others to do the same.
What is your mindset? Are you afraid someone will take away what you have and work to keep what you’ve got? Or do you look for the best in everything and work for more of the best? Here are 5 questions to help you become aware of and change your mindset from scarcity to abundance.
- At your best, who do you want to be? Abundance mindsets begin with the assumption of possibility. Consider what you want to be and reach for the limit of your potential.
- What is working well that can help me move forward? Even in the worst of situations, something is working well. Build on strengths to find new possibilities.
- How can I be more curious about new ideas, new processes, new ways of doing things? Abundance assumes openness. Begin by opening your mind and allowing your natural curiosity to be a guide for trying something new.
- What can we learn from this setback that can re-energize us? Figure out the reason you want to change and leverage learning in order to create a new way forward.
- What skills and behaviors may have been critical in prior roles but are less relevant or perhaps even detrimental in this new role? If something is not working, it needs to be stopped. In order to change your mindset, you need to identify what you need to stop doing as well as what you need to start doing.
There is no magic bullet, but you can stretch yourself to encourage more positive outcomes. Executive coaching can help by giving you an ally, someone helping reinforce the best possibilities and encouraging open-mindedness.
As a coach, I specialize in emotional intelligence, communications and leadership. Book a free session if you are looking to improve your ability to inspire and influence.