Today as I sat in a board meeting the concept of abundance vs scarcity is playing out. My mind is in two places at once — an active board member participating in the dialogue on the decision we must make at the same time, observing my colleagues against what I know is a leadership Rubik’s cube!
Let me provide context of the dilemma; we are a board of a high-performance sports organization and in today’s world, data analytics offers individuals and teams information that can exponentially improve performance through review, study, and incorporation into training & game day execution – we are just beginning to dip our toe into the water.
Unbeknownst to the board, the chairman agreed to have a respected analytics speaker share how using data improves athlete re$ult$. As the presentation unfolded, the room was filled with anxiety manifested in questions of skepticism. After a few minutes, someone had the courage to voice the fear! “We don’t want our competitors to have access to our analytics –it gives them a competitive advantage!!” This fear grew louder and louder in a chorus of doubt – expressed by all board members except me — and by current and former athletes who were invited to the presentation.
As I continued to listen, I thought, ‘If the information allows individuals to improve exponentially, why focus on the circle of concern — that someone else will likely get better too?’ While I am not an athlete, I know that high performance, no matter the playing field, comes from daily continuous focus & improvement! I decided to interject to test how deep the fear and scarcity mentality is…the difference of opinion was fierce – immediately reinforcing the depth of the scarcity mentality.
So, the question we must each ask ourselves is, ” Am I willing to risk self and collective improvement due to fear of what others may gain?” An abundance mentality is an attitude and belief that there is an infinite amount of ‘goodness & success’ available to every person.
What do you think the board should decide to do? Would love to hear your views and personal experiences.