How can you encourage risk-taking in your team?

1 Define risk-taking

Before you ask your team to take more risks, you need to clarify what you mean by risk-taking and what kind of risks you expect them to take. Risk-taking is not about being reckless, irresponsible, or careless. It is about exploring new possibilities, experimenting with different approaches, and challenging assumptions. You need to communicate the purpose, benefits, and boundaries of risk-taking to your team, and align it with your goals, values, and vision. You also need to differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable risks, and provide clear criteria and guidelines for evaluating and managing risks.

2 Reward risk-taking

One of the best ways to encourage risk-taking in your team is to reward it. This does not mean that you have to reward every risk that your team takes, regardless of the outcome. It means that you have to recognize and appreciate the effort, learning, and growth that come from taking risks. You can reward risk-taking in various ways, such as giving feedback, praise, recognition, incentives, or opportunities. You can also celebrate and share the successes and failures of risk-taking, and highlight the lessons and insights gained from them.

4 Model risk-taking

A third way to encourage risk-taking in your team is to model it. This means that you have to lead by example and demonstrate your own willingness and ability to take risks. You have to show your team how you identify, evaluate, and pursue risks, and how you handle the outcomes, whether positive or negative. You have to share your own experiences, challenges, and learnings from risk-taking, and invite feedback and suggestions from your team. You also have to collaborate and cooperate with your team on risk-taking projects, and show your enthusiasm and curiosity for new opportunities.

5 Learn from risk-taking

A final way to encourage risk-taking in your team is to learn from it. This means that you have to encourage your team to reflect on and learn from their risk-taking activities, and use them as opportunities for improvement and innovation. You have to facilitate and participate in regular debriefs, reviews, and feedback sessions with your team, and help them identify the strengths, weaknesses, and areas for development of their risk-taking processes and outcomes. You also have to encourage your team to apply and share their learnings from risk-taking, and incorporate them into their future actions and plans.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?