Career Winners Circle

Conventional wisdom would have you believe women take fewer risks than men.  In my experience, that generalization is inaccurate and unfounded.  While men and women address risk differently, I’ve seen many women highly capable of taking the right risks to accelerate their companies and careers.  

Women who are exceptionally good at balancing risk and reward have three things in common.  They understand their natural risk tolerance levels, are able to assess the risk level each situation calls for and they make room for imperfection.

In assessing your personal level of comfort when taking risks you need to understand your natural instincts. Reflect back on when you’ve had to make a big decision.  It could be a career move, taking on a new project, making a go / no-go decision on a product launch or hiring a new team member.  How much certainty did you need to come to a “yes” decision? 

People typically fall into one of four risk profiles.  Some are very comfortable going “all in” with very limited information, some will take a chance if the upside is immediately obvious, some will take a risk with a chance for some upside potential down the road and some are completely risk averse.  Which one most accurately describes your comfort zone?

The concept of no risk/no reward definitely comes into play here but you also don’t want to take so many risks you find yourself out the door and looking for a new job.  How do you strike that perfect balance between your personal risk profile and the level of risk each situation calls for?

Making no decision is making a decision to do nothing.  Sitting by the sidelines and hoping things will work themselves out is not what the best leaders do.  They know hope is not a strategy and are able to identify and balance the benefits, drawbacks and tradeoffs of their decisions.  Here are a few ideas to help you make better decisions and take risks like a pro.

Use the best information available.  Data is always imperfect. Don’t let perfection get in the way of progress.  Get your information from several sources, compare and contrast the information and come up with baseline data that you are comfortable with.

Imagine the worst case scenario.  Are you comfortable with it?  If you’re not, go back and revisit the solutions until you get to a point where you are.

Know your advisors intentions.  Having trusted advisors is critical when making decisions that involve a high degree of risk.  Make sure your advisors have the right interests in mind and not their own personal agendas. While you’re at it, make sure you understand what your own motivations are and make sure you are on the right track for the right reasons.

Know your tipping point. Before you even get started, establish a point when you are willing to pull the plug. Many people get overly committed to an idea. Then when things start to go terribly wrong they can’t pull the plug and keep throwing good money after bad for far too long.

Hedge your bets.  In a high risk situation the “all or nothing” approach may not be the smartest move.  Take small steps to achieve your goals or pilot your idea with a small group and give yourself the ability to pull back and revise as needed.

Be a short term pessimist and a long term optimist.  If you don’t believe a proposed solution will work, no-one else will either so you need to lead through these situations with conviction and optimism. However, a heavy dose of pessimism is useful in determining everything that can possibly go wrong.  You can then build a plan to minimize the risks or even eliminate them completely.

Don’t let mistakes define you.  The best leaders make room for mistakes and are able to recover from them. They consistently under-promise and over-deliver. Taking risks is not about being perfect; it’s about being effective.  Make room for mistakes at the onset and address issues head on with a high degree of transparency.  Learn from your mistakes and course correct quickly.

A big part of accelerating your career and company is taking risks that are appropriate to each situation.  Understanding your natural biases and leveraging these risk-taking techniques will bring your decision making into perfect balance.   It’s an essential part of becoming a strong leader who makes a lasting impact.

Are you looking to grow your career and strengthen your leadership style? Schedule a complimentary coaching session at https://go.oncehub.com/OwnYourPower.