Encourage Risk-Taking

When one allows curiosity to propel themselves forward while reframing fears and roadblocks as opportunities, an invitation for risk-taking emerges.

Incubate to Innovate’s ChangeMaker Innovation Activator #4 is Encourage Risk-Taking. 

When cultures are re-engineered with a mindset to Grow through Failure, the ability for leaders to Encourage Risk-Taking increases. Strengthening risk-taking muscles is critical for educators seeking to develop empathetic, problem-solving skills in students that are needed to inspire stewardship of ideas to cultivate social change and widespread impact. 

Try navigating ambiguity with your upcoming project or goal by looking at where you are currently and where you have been vs. trying to stick to a process or plan.  

Here are some KEY questions to ask your team or students in the classroom that can Encourage Risk-Taking and keep projects/goals moving forward:

• What if we tried…?
• What if we no longer relied upon…?
• How might we…?
• What can we learn from…?
• What might it look like if we did…?

Innovation can not occur without RISK.  

Freedom to explore is what inspires creativity.  Establishing a safe environment lowers the barriers of ideation angst, invites discovery, and encourages others to then take their own needed risks within a safe collaborative community.

For me personally, navigating the unknown and choosing to take risks was hard for me at first, however, now it is in those moments that I feel the most ALIVE. 

How can you take some action steps to Encourage Risk-Taking for yourself and with those in your sphere of influence?