In real estate, Opportunity Zones are areas prioritized for development by the government and provide special tax advantages for investors. The idea is to create more opportunity for those who live in those communities.

A leader should think about their team and company as an Opportunity Zone too.

It’s a place where people can be more financially secure. It’s a place for people to learn new skills and strengths. It’s a place where people can grow and feel good about themselves and their place in the community.

Two factors have a big impact on the degree of opportunity a leader can provide: the degree to which a leader is thinking big and the degree to which a leader is empowering the team.

Small thinking makes for small opportunities. Big thinking makes for big opportunities. You should be looking for the big opportunities and what is possible. Don’t limit yourself and others to that which is small and probable. Small businesses are selfish businesses.

Empowerment is also an essential component to opportunity. The most opportunity is created when a team can make decisions about the nature and direction of their work. If they know what the goals are and have the freedom to find ways to get there, opportunity will expand.

John Chambers, the former CEO of Cisco, has stated that one of the things of which he is most proud was the opportunity to help create over ten thousand millionaires over the course of his tenure.

Those kinds of results come from providing the environment for people to succeed. I hope you truly believe it is your responsibility as a leader to contribute to zones of opportunity. The degree to which you believe it and act on it, the better our world will be.

The world needs more opportunity– and you can be a big part of making it happen.