October 13, 2020
The author stresses the need for leaders to have an abundance mindset in creating change, particularly in roles of philanthropy. The article begins with three examples of social entrepreneurs adopting an abundance mindset: The Kenya Community Development Foundation, Social Venture Partners India, and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Eight behaviors that lead with abundance are you are proactively generous; you have the courage to grow and develop yourself continuously; you are resilient; you embrace inclusion; you believe you deserve the best; you think big; you take prudent risks; and you invest in your capacity and talent, and that of your partners. Within the section on investing in yourself, four areas are explored: capacity, talent, technology, and learning. Within investing in your partners, the areas are take time to build trusting relationships; stick with partners though challenging times; make sufficient investments in infrastructure, organizational capacity, and long‐term planning; and support the competition. When you or the people around you have an abundance mindset, you’ll routinely hear questions like Who are the top experts in the country (or world) who can advise us? Who are the best people we can get and what is the most strategic use of their time?