What Are You Willing to Risk?

Leadership inherently involves a certain amount of risk.  There’s the risk involved in putting forth an idea, in challenging the status quo (if that’s what you’re up to), in inviting others to follow, in taking a stance — these are all leadership actions and they all require risk to a certain degree.  The amount of risk you’re willing to engage in impacts the degree of success you’ll achieve.

When a problem arises — when you’re faced with a challenge — it behooves you to ask how much risk you’re willing to take on.  More importantly, what exactly are you willing to risk?  Are you willing to risk looking foolish?  Are  you willing to risk feeling someone’s anger?  Are you willing to risk being wrong?  Are you willing to risk losing a friendship, or a follower?  Knowing what you’re willing to risk allows you to push the boundaries in order to achieve a specific outcome.

Similarly, knowing what you’re NOT willing to risk allows you to know when to pull back.  When you are clear about your limit in terms of risk, you become clear on the actions you will and will not take and why you pull back when you do.  This knowledge allows you to make your choices with no regrets.  You may experience some frustration if you reach the limit of your risk-zone and change isn’t happening to your liking; and, at that point, you get to re-evaluate what you’re willing to risk and determine how much more energy you’re willing to expend for the cause, whatever it might be.

As a leader, whatever it is you’re striving to create, change or bring about in the world is made easier when you know what you’re willing to risk.   So hold the question as you navigate your leadership and give it a voice.  Know your risk-zone, know how much energy you’re willing to expend, re-evaluate from time to time, and make your choices accordingly.

Bottom-line:  when you know what you’re willing to risk, you can confidently make choices to bring your leadership vision to reality.