How the Ally Mindset^TM Can Change the World

In You, Me, We: Why We All Need a Friend at Work (and How To Show Up As One!) we talk about how an Ally Mindset^TM can radically transform your career, your experience of work, and even your life. 

But the true impact of being an ally is even larger – having an Ally Mindset^TM can change the world.

This isn’t just a clickbait-esque statement to get you to read more (we’d have added more unicorns if it was). Changing the world becomes more possible when we move from a me-focus to a we-focus.

It all starts with the foundational practice of the Ally Mindset^TM, abundance & generosity. 

Success Multiplied: Abundance & Generosity in Action

Abundance & generosity starts with a change in perspective, specifically by believing that there’s more than enough for everyone, including success. 

As our Head Unicorn Morag Barrett says, “Success isn’t a scarce resource. Success is a shared resource.” 

When you’re operating out of abundance, your view of success becomes infinitely broader, and you’re free to align your actions with your personal values. 

We can’t think of a better example of this than Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard and his family. As the New York Times recently reported, they chose to give away (aka. share) their ownership of Patagonia, ownership valued at $3 billion.

That’s nine zeroes and a LOT of money. But Yvon and his family didn’t model abundance & generosity just because they gave away their fortune. Lots of people give away money without being an ally. 

Where they exemplified the Ally Mindset^TM was in the way they gave. Their incredibly generous gift was about aligning with their own personal values and pursuing a success that was true to them and beneficial for others.

Long-time conservationists and climate philanthropists, they gave 98% of Patagonia to a newly established nonprofit organization called the Holdfast Collective which will focus on nature-based climate solutions. 

Their goal? Save the planet. (See, we told you it wasn’t clickbait!)

But changing the world isn’t just about the environment, no matter how much Captain Planet would disagree.

There are countless ways to make the world a better place with the Ally Mindset^TM.

A Better World Starts With You

Imagine a world where you don’t feel the need to compare yourself to others and can pursue the type of success that is true to your personal values. 

And now imagine a world where you and your allies support each other in achieving that kind of success together.  

This is exactly what happens when you adopt an Ally Mindset^TM and begin to see success as a shared resource.

It may not make the headlines of the New York Times, but each time you invest in someone else, you make their life and yours a little better. 

And those small investments add up. Every word of encouragement, every piece of shared insight, and every fifteen minutes of extra help create invaluable returns – better relationships, a better culture, and a better world for everyone around you.

But it all starts with you: you have to take the first step.

Changing the World Takes One Small Step at a Time

You probably don’t have ownership of a $3 billion company. But you do have ownership of your time, skills, words, money, behavior, etc.   

There’s no reason you can’t immediately start investing some of those assets into the success of others. You don’t have to give away everything you own to do this: you just have to be intentional about showing up as an ally.

As you do, you’ll see a change not just in others or in yourself but also, little by little, in the world around you. 

Because we, and the world, really are #bettertogether.