Today’s guest post is from Carrie Majewski, CEO of Women in Leadership Nexus. It's a membership-based group that looks to "forever change the lives of our women, helping them play it big to reach newfound levels of professional and personal success."
The post has been edited for length and clarity.
I have been replaying over and over a question I was asked a few weeks ago.
I had just concluded a presentation I had given at the WISE Symposium in upstate New York, and during the breakout, I reviewed five core principles that extraordinary leaders demonstrate.
The final pillar? Choose abundance over scarcity.
I was referencing a model put forth in Stephen Covey’s best-selling business book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In the book, Covey contends that by nature, our minds are hard-wired to be predisposed to either seeing the world through an abundance or scarcity lens.
The abundance mentality “flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security,” argues Covey. At the highest level, those who operate out of a place of abundance believe there is an endless amount of pizza coming out of the oven. In other words, there is always enough to go around — enough success, resources, ideas, money, relationships, etc.
Conversely, those who subscribe to a scarcity mentality compete for available resources. It is a mentality that Covey refers to as “the zero-sum paradigm of life.” These individuals believe if you take a slice of pizza, there is one less for me to eat.
I implored the audience — full of powerhouse business leaders, executives, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs — to choose abundance if they want to be remarkable leaders. I encouraged them to have deep-rooted confidence in the fact that the pizza never stops coming out of the oven. Against this backdrop, I asked them to commit to sharing more authentically, celebrating in the success of others and being more open and trusting.
Then the question came: "Carrie, do you have any tips for dealing with people who choose scarcity when you choose abundance?"
I smiled because this attendee had given voice to a question I had found myself asking recently.
"At the highest level, those who operate out of a place of abundance believe there is an endless amount of pizza coming out of the oven."
And since. For the past few weeks, I can’t stop thinking about this question, replaying my own experiences with this stark dichotomy of mindsets and reading rigorously on the topic. Though there is not a prescriptive step-by-step process we can follow to help others see the abundance, I do think there are three things we can keep in mind.
- Model the Way: The easiest way we can co-create a world with more abundance is to show others the power of abundance. When you come across someone with a fixed mindset who is quick to compete, don’t meet them at their mentality; instead, show them the beauty of yours. Share honestly, compliment their success and encourage them to stretch their minds creatively. In so doing, you are showing them that there can be a different, more mutually beneficial way for us all to view the world.
- Protect your Energy: I’ve found the most dangerous part in the world of scarcity is its ability to drain you of your energy. When you meet with someone who hoards information, treats you hierarchically or obviously competes with you, it can leave you feeling depleted and deprived. So, when you come across someone who chooses scarcity, kick your EQ and contextual awareness into high-drive. Understand that see the world differently and put up a wall of defense around your energy. You don’t have to understand them, but you have to understand how they can potentially negatively impact you.
- Seek out Abundance: At times it can feel that everyone around you is choosing scarcity, particularly when you are a leader, changing the world and innovating. But, fortunately, there’s also a critical mass of people just like you. So, seek out the abundance. Choose companies with cultures that celebrate principles like empowerment, circular hierarchy and creative dissonance. Work for leaders and not bosses. Pick a circle of champions that believe in your success.
We may not be able to successfully convince everyone that there is in fact endless pizza, but we can convince some. When we do, our world becomes a whole lot more abundant and our potential for impact limitless.
About the Author: Carrie is committed to effecting change. Whether that means helping a company originate and execute a best-of-breed marketing and branding strategy, leading a seminar on redefining leadership, or creating safe space for female trailblazers to come together, she is fueled by desire to take action. In addition to her work with the Women in Leadership Nexus, she is also the principal of marketing at Trilix, an application development and systems integration company. Carrie was named to the 2017 Rhode Island “40 Under 40” list and is a 2016 Rhode Island Tech10 Winner. She received her Bachelor's Degree in English and Journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. In 2017, she received her Women in Leadership professional certificate from Cornell University. Carrie is also a member of the board of directors of the Girl Scouts Southeastern New England and a member of the Tech Collective's Women in Technology Committee.
