Question:

personal application of the concepts and theories for the search for opportunity and taking risks

The Leadership Challenge CHAPTER 7 Experiment and Take Risks TAKE ACTION Experiment and Take Risks Change is the work of leaders. It's what they do. They are always looking for ways to improve, grow, and innovate. They know that the way things are done today won't get people to the tomorrow they envision, so they experiment, tinker, and shake things up. They ask, "Where can we experiment, and how can we improve?" However, change can overwhelm, frighten, and immobilize some people. Exemplary leaders believe, and get others to believe, that change is a challenge they can successfully address and that individuals can control their life and influence outcomes. They make sure that everyone clearly understands the meaning and purpose of change, and they create a strong sense of commitment to the mission. Using small wins to get things moving in the right direction, they break tasks down and set short-term goals. Taking a small-bets approach (e.g., setting up experiments, beta tests, pilot projects) gets people started, makes progress imaginable, builds commitment, and creates momentum. Whenever you try new things, big or small, stuff happens that wasn't expected and, inevitably, mistakes and even failures occur. You never get it right the first time-and may not on the second or third try, either, which is why exemplary leaders create a climate that's conducive to learning. This means not punishing people for experimentation and risk-taking, and ensuring that people feel safe enough to learn from their experiences and pass those lessons forward. The truth is that the best leaders are the best learners. You need a growth mindset, believing that improvements happen when everyone puts in the effort to learn. You also need to create a learning climate-one in which people feel trusted, are encouraged to persist despite the odds, share successes and failures, adopt continuous improvement as the routine way of doing things, and have opportunities to view and interact with positive role models. To Challenge the Process, you must experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from experience. To move in this direction, take these actions: - Reward risk-takers. Praise them. Award them prizes. Give them the opportunity to talk about their experiences and share the lessons they've learned. - Identify a couple of successful people in your organization who excel at Challenging the Process. Interview them about what they think are the ingredients for innovation and experimentation. Act upon the insights gained. - Hold a meeting with employees and ask them what really annoys them about the organization. Commit to making changes in three of the most frequently mentioned items that are hindering productivity and success. In every interaction, you have the chance to direct people's attention to aspects of leadership that you think are important. Find opportunities to converse with others about these questions: - When have you felt it wasn't safe to speak up, ask difficult questions, offer new ideas, or raise concerns? What was going on that made you feel that way? How can we make it safer around here to take a risk and learn from our mistakes? -What's one mistake you made recently or action you wish could be a "do-over"? What did you learn from this experience? To Challenge the Process, you must search for iny tunities by seizing the initiative and looking outwail hit innovative ways to improve. You can apply this enteninit behavior by: - Beginning each weekly meeting with your team question: "What action did you take last week CHAPTER 7 your performance even better this week?" - Volunteering for a tough assignment in your your community. Be proactive in looking for stretch yourself and learn something. - Shopping for ideas. Visit a local organization one like your own-anything from a restauran! chine shop to a hospital to an educational come back until you see one thing that the I inilers are not afraid to take risks very well and that your organization could adiaif init ilep outside their comfort zones. In addition, use your interactions with Chris Hintz portunity to talk with people and direct theif alientinin aspects of leadership that you think are impontani Converse with them about these questions: - If you were our strongest competitor, what put us out of business? - What's one surprising fact or trend that you ierinif about or learned, and what are the implicatient business/organization? the front counter and ask people what they like and dislike about your organization. Shop at a competitor's store or, better yet, shop anonymously for one of your organization's products and see what the salespeople in the store say about it. Dial your workplace and listen to how people answer telephone calls and handle questions. Devote at least one-fourth of every weekly staff meeting to gather ideas for improving processes and technologies and developing new products and services. These methods will keep your eyes and ears open to new ideas. You can never tell where or when you might find new ideas. Remain receptive and expose yourself to broader views. Be willing to hear, consider, and accept ideas from sources outside the company. If you never turn your back on what is happening outside the boundaries of your organization, the waves of change that roll in won't catch you by surprise. TAKE ACTION: Search for Opportunities Leaders dedicated to making extraordinary things happen are open to receiving ideas from anyone and anywhere. They are adept at using their outsight to survey the landscape of technology, politics, economics, demographics, art, religion, and society in search of new ideas. They are prepared to search for opportunities to address the constant shifts in their environment. They seize the initiative and address the changes they see. Moreover, because they are proactive, they don't just ride the waves of change; they make the waves that others ride. You don't have to change history, but you do have to change business-as-usual thinking. You have to be proactive, continually inviting and creating new initiatives. Be on the lookout for anything that lulls you or your colleagues into a false sense of security. Change, innovation, and leadership are nearly synonymous. This means that your focus is less on the routine operations and much more on the untested and untried. Keep in mind that the most innovative ideas are often not your own nor from your organization. They're elsewhere, and the best leaders look all around them for the places in which breakthrough ideas are hiding. They ask questions and seek advice. Exemplary leadership requires outsight, not just insight. The quest for change is an adventure. It tests your will and your skill. It's tough, but it's also stimulating. Adversity introduces you to yourself. To get the best from yourself and others, you must understand what gives meaning and purpose to your work. (continued)