Yes, And Thinking: Cultivating Growth & Community in Leadership
November 11th, 2025
Watch the video recording above, or find the audio-only version through your preferred podcast platform.
At the heart of innovation and community growth lies a mindset: “Yes, And.” Rather than seeing constraints as limitations, “Yes, And” invites possibility, collaboration, and co-creation across sectors and perspectives. Under Bridgett Massengill’s direction, Thrive’s recent Tri-State Summit adopted “Yes, And” as its theme to unite business, civic, and community leaders toward shared progress. Thrive Regional Partnership
In this episode of Leaders in the Arena, we explore how “Yes, And” thinking becomes more than a conference motif—it becomes a leadership posture, a tool for resilient communities, and a driver for inclusive growth. Bridgett shares stories and lessons from Thrive’s work in the Chattanooga / Tri-State region, and insights about how other leaders and communities can apply this mindset in their own contexts.
Key Topics:
“Yes, And” as a Leadership Mindset: The philosophy behind the phrase—how it shifts conversations from opposition to possibility, from either/or to both/and.
Bridging Differences to Build Community: Ways the “Yes, And” approach helps reconcile varied interests—economic development, environmental concerns, equity, infrastructure—into joint solutions.
Growth Through Generative Collaboration: How community and regional progress can emerge when stakeholders adopt “Yes, And” thinking—co-creating rather than competing.
With Bridge Innovate, accelerate growth for the benefit of your community. Or partner with Bridge to help your team adopt a “yes, and” mindset. Contact us to learn more.
Founded in 2003, Bridge Innovate is an SBA-certified woman-owned small business with 20+ years of experience in business innovation, leadership development, and organizational change. We’re on a mission to make a difference and to ignite creative leadership for growth and good.