4 Steps to Building an Abundance Mentality

Promoting teamwork and recognizing a job well done will not only motivate employees but will help grow your business as well.
4 Steps to Building an Abundance Mentality
Richard J. Bryan is a speaker, executive coach and author of Being Frank: Real Life Lessons to Grow Your Business and Yourself. For more information, visit www.richardjbryan.com.

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Have you ever worked with people who had a scarcity mentality? In other words, they believed that if someone else was successful, there was less opportunity for them. Their whole belief system was one of winning at all costs, at the expense of friends, colleagues, customers and even family members. They had a win/lose outlook on business and life in general.

Typically, this sort of approach is less successful in the long run because it is not conducive to building long-term relationships. Other people are turned off by this compulsive will to win, regardless of who loses in the process.

It is far more productive if, as a manager or small-business owner, you can promote an abundance mentality in the workplace. This helps you and others find creative solutions in problem-solving, and it is far more motivational for employees, ultimately leading to business growth. How do you do this? Try adopting these four simple steps in your business:

Become a coach and mentor

Don’t be so quick to criticize members of your staff if they get something wrong or fail at a particular task; instead view it as a coaching opportunity. If you can become more of a coach and mentor rather than a task-oriented leader, you create an opportunity to grow your people and let them learn from their mistakes. This also makes the team of people working for you more self-sufficient and stronger, enabling you to focus on other strategic priorities.

Seek creative solutions

Encourage your employees to come up with creative solutions to issues. This will empower them to discover new and better ways of doing things that can directly impact the bottom line.

For example, Peter, a longtime owner of a car dealership, was amazed at how much money he saved when his employees offered to paint the white lines that marked out the 500 car spaces on the site. Normally this simple task would have cost thousands of dollars each year by employing outside contractors to paint the lines every six months. However, with his own staff doing the job, not only was it completed at half the cost, but they also did a far better job because they took more pride in the task at hand.

Encourage risk-taking

Persuade your team to take calculated risks and learn from their mistakes. By doing this you send a signal that you want them to think bigger and help to grow the business rather than just sticking with the status quo. This can deliver results and create a culture in which looking for new and better ways of doing things is not only encouraged but also rewarded.

Remember that the first attempt at doing this may not result in the best solution, but this approach does encourage outside-the-box thinking rather than worrying about being “right” and playing it safe. Allow time for both you and the team to get accustomed to this approach.

Give praise and recognition

It is amazing how something as simple as giving regular, positive feedback can be so effective as a strategy for growing your business. What is even more amazing is how few organizations do this well.

Bob, the general manager for a successful retail store, had more than 50 salespeople working for him. He maintained that his team was motivated by winning the “Salesperson of the Month” award, not because of the financial bonus they received but because of the peer recognition and praise from their manager and colleagues. “It is a huge motivator for our team,” he said. So ask yourself: What ways can you find to give genuine praise and recognition to your employees?

THE BOTTOM LINE

A CEO of a multibillion-dollar software company put it best when asked about the many things his organization had achieved during the past 10 years. He was quick to praise his management team and said, “We take it as a given that you need to have the skills and the experience to come and work as part of our team. Then we look to hire those who have a positive outlook and an attitude of abundance. This is what helped us to grow revenues and profits even during tough times.”

If you can lead in a way that encourages collaboration, you will build an abundance mentality that promotes teamwork and what is best for your company and its customers. More creative ways of doing things are discovered and a win/win philosophy becomes the norm.



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