Dr. Kelly Goldsmith | Vanderbilt University
Thu Feb 05 2026
When people feel short on time, resources, clarity, or support, the instinct is often to pull inward, protect territory, and stop investing in teamwork. But what if scarcity could strengthen collaboration?
That’s exactly what I explore in my latest podcast conversation with Dr. Kelly Goldsmith, a Professor of Marketing at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management who studies how scarcity shapes our behavior.
In this episode, we dig into questions that leaders face daily:
- When teams say they are too busy or don’t have enough resources to collaborate, how does the perception of scarcity impact their work?
- Why does uncertainty and scarcity sometimes demotivate people to act collectively and other times energize team members to pull closer together?
- How does a scarcity mindset trigger status concerns and unnecessary competition and what can leaders do to reduce zero-sum thinking?
- How should leaders give recognition to team members so the entire team is motivated?
- How can people respond to scarcity by throwing their efforts in other unexpected directions?
One of my biggest takeaways was that uncertainty and scarcity undermine a sense of control. Leaders can reframe limits as opportunity that will improve when the team collaborates.
If you lead teams under pressure (and who doesn’t right now?), this conversation will change the way you think about “not having enough” and how to create cooperation when resources are scarce.
Thank you Dr. Kelly Goldsmith for helping us rethink collaboration in constrained environments.
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When people feel short on time, resources, clarity, or support, the instinct is often to pull inward, protect territory, and stop investing in teamwork. But what if scarcity could strengthen collaboration? That’s exactly what I explore in my latest podcast conversation with Dr. Kelly Goldsmith, a Professor of Marketing at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management who studies how scarcity shapes our behavior. In this episode, we dig into questions that leaders face daily: - When teams say they are too busy or don’t have enough resources to collaborate, how does the perception of scarcity impact their work? - Why does uncertainty and scarcity sometimes demotivate people to act collectively and other times energize team members to pull closer together? - How does a scarcity mindset trigger status concerns and unnecessary competition and what can leaders do to reduce zero-sum thinking? - How should leaders give recognition to team members so the entire team is motivated? - How can people respond to scarcity by throwing their efforts in other unexpected directions? One of my biggest takeaways was that uncertainty and scarcity undermine a sense of control. Leaders can reframe limits as opportunity that will improve when the team collaborates. If you lead teams under pressure (and who doesn’t right now?), this conversation will change the way you think about “not having enough” and how to create cooperation when resources are scarce. Thank you Dr. Kelly Goldsmith for helping us rethink collaboration in constrained environments.