There was always a lot of talk, but there was rarely any progress. I was worn out at the end of every meeting. The leadership team was stuck. Therefore the whole company was stuck.

Leadership through risk avoidance inspires nobody! If a leader wants to have committed followers, the leader must be willing to take some risks. Otherwise, the whole organization will be stuck in a quagmire of fear and doubt. 

Risky Business

Risky Business

Dumb Leaders

“I have no idea what I am facing. I have not evaluated the rewards of success or the consequences of failure. I do not have a plan. But, lets go!”

That leader is not taking a risk. That leader is not thinking! When a leader acts that way, the leader is setting up the team and the individuals on the team for catastrophe. That is just dumb.

Fearful Leaders

“Let’s be sure we examine everything before we jump in. I need to know every possible outcome. This seams like too bold a move. Can we just go slow or implement some of the plan so we don’t create any new problems? If we do move forward, let’s be sure we get approval from headquarters first.”

A leader who wants guarantees of success before moving forward only guarantees mediocrity and stagnation. Too often these fearful leaders act like because there is a possibility of failure, that failure is likely.

Leadership is risky business. If I am not willing to take some risk as a leader, then nothing will change. Leaders lead change. Managers manage the status quo.

There is a difference between gaining wisdom and gaining fear.  Click here.

Inspirational Leaders

“What’s the situation/opportunity? What’s the upside? What is the downside? What could go wrong? What are the contingencies if things do go wrong? Will this plan lead us closer to achieving our ultimate goals/vision? If we do this, we must be 100% committed. The risk is worth it. Let’s go!”

The inspirational leader examines the risks and the benefits before moving forward. The inspirational leader asks hard questions and tries to mitigate and prepare for the risk.   Risk avoidance is not the inspirational leader’s goal – progress is.

The inspirational leader understands that moving forward involves some risk. But when the rewards outweigh the risk, the inspirational leader takes action.

The Bottom Line:

  • Is there risk involved in trying new things? Always.
  • Is avoiding all risk possible? Never.
  • Am I leading if risk avoidance is my primary strategy? No.

If I am in the business of leading, then I better be in the business of inspiring others to follow. Action inspires others to follow. Leadership through risk avoidance inspires nobody. 

The inspirational leader knows that the only way to eliminate risk is to do nothing. People want to follow leaders who lead them wisely towards growth, progress and new opportunities.

I do not need to be a great orator or be full of charisma to be inspirational. To be an inspirational leader, I need to lead people and teams towards something new and better. I need to take action. That is a truly inspirational.

For more on blogs on leadership visit:  alslead.com

Question:

What opportunities have you seen leaders miss because they were more concerned about the risks involved?