I have been mentoring people for many years, particularly towards the latter half of my professional career. Now retired, I have continued mentoring on a voluntary basis to a wide range of people, from primary and secondary school age boys to University IT Graduates. During this year I have also led a men’s mentoring program at my local church community.
Recently I had a conversation with a young high school student on the topic of ‘risk taking’ which was prompted by an evaluation questionnaire I received regarding his performance as a mentee for a specific project assignment. The question I was asked was the student’s preparedness to take risks beyond their comfort zone. This was a school mentoring program which I have been involved with the student during this school year.
As I was describing to Jimmy (not his real name) the sort of risk I was referencing when considering the question, I put forward that it is not a frivolous or foolish risk like jumping off a bridge with little concern for safety or consequences. The "risk" the questionnaire and I were more concern with related to Jimmy taking a hypothetical stand or position on a particular subject, and/or venturing on an exercise unfamiliar to him. In other words, in the first case, having a point of view and a conviction to voice his opinion, which may be uncharacteristic of his introverted demeanor, and may be considered at odds with the current thinking or view of his peers or circle of friends. In the latter case, it might be about Jimmy doing something that he may not have done before.
The comments shared with Jimmy echoed back to me as I too was in a similar learning experience as Jimmy when I was growing up. I too was fortunate to have experienced people speak into my life, though they were not called mentors back then.
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Have you ever said, or heard someone say, “At the risk of embarrassing myself,” or “At the risk of sounding foolish,” or “At the risk of going against conventional wisdom"? Over the years I am sure I have used those statements or derivations of them. As the occasions arises, we are sometimes put in a situation where we are called upon to take a few risks by voicing our position on a particular subject which may go against our normal character response, like staying quiet or keeping with the status quo. In Latin the word status quo means “the existing state or condition". In other words, we don't wish to "rock the boat" but maintain the current state.
My conversation with Jimmy allowed me to share my experiences and to use our mentor-mentee relationship to help develop Jimmy’s maturity, adaptability, teamwork, self-care, and leadership skills. I also shared with him some of my books written by John C Maxwell about leadership and teamwork. I advised Jimmy that if he ever found himself in a leadership position, either at school, in a youth group or workplace, he will likely be called upon to consider taking an action which may be against the norm or status quo. I added that leaders see what is, but they also have a vision for what could be. We are often put in a position to only consider the 'now', while visionary leaders look beyond the 'now' and into the possibilities. I challenged Jimmy to consider this.
Maxwell in his book, “Developing the Leaders Around You” writes, “Leaders are never content with things as they are. To be leading, by definition, is to be in front, breaking new ground, conquering new worlds, moving away from the status quo." It was this thread of thinking that I was attempting to get across to Jimmy when talking about risk taking. As he grows up, there will be many situations that will arise which will likely cause him to consider and evaluate the next steps to take when having to make a decision.
Photo Credit: Media from Wix
Dissatisfaction with the status quo does not mean having a negative attitude or grumbling option on the current state. It has to do with a preparedness to be different and to take risks when questioning it. A person who refuses to risk change fails to grow. We know that change is never easy. It often requires someone to go outside their comfort zones of familiarity and knowledge level to affect change. Maxwell says, "A leader who loves the status quo soon becomes a follower." If we expect change as inevitable, then its corollary is that risk taking is consequential of change.
While we may seek the well-trodden path for safety, comfort and surety of an expected outcome, an innovative leader will sometimes consider taking a risk to carve a new path to uncover a better route or discover the next best thing! As Albert Einstein was quoted as saying, “There’s a way to do it better – find it.”
Raymond Smith, former chairman of Verizon (formerly Bell Atlantic) once remarked, “Taking the safe road, doing your job, and not making any waves may not get you fired (right away, at least), but it sure won’t do much for your career or your company over the long haul. We’re not dumb. We know that simply doing repetitive processing is easy and cheap to maintain. Leaders - risk takers - are in very short supply. And ones with vision are pure gold.”
Such a sentiment not only applies to Jimmy’s maturity as he grows up, but it should apply to anyone who is reading this, either in business, studying in college, in a leadership position, or indeed for life in general.
Risk may seem dangerous to many people because they are more comfortable with the old problems versus what it takes to come up with new solutions. The difference highlighted by Maxwell in his book is attitude, which is our mindset. Maxwell goes on to say, “When you seek out potential leaders, seek people who seek solutions.”
Recently I read an article by the ABC broadcaster Geraldine Doogue, who is now a host on ABC Radio National. In the article Doogue speaks of her early days in the male dominated Sydney newspaper publishing scene. She says in her article, “I somehow took up the challenges on offer and kept extending myself. One way or other, I must not have been too afraid of failure, though it certainly didn’t feel like that.”
She went on to say when talking about beginning her journey in journalism, “Indeed my view now is that while outright failure is not to be advised…if you’re not prepared to be mediocre for a while when taking on something new, not prepared to be a bit humbled, don’t bother to even start. It’s a very important realization.” Perhaps we could all consider this attitude when taking on a new challenge, either a new career, working in a new company or whatever major changes we are faced with.
In the article, Doogue reflects over her years of interviewing and the number of quotations she had noted in her professional growth.
One being “There are risks in not taking any risks in life”, a probable paraphrasing of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg who said “The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking any risks.”
Another quote, attributed to the actor Sam Neill, was when he said, “Always take your talent seriously…never your career.” Doogue adds to this quote saying, “Work that out and I truly believe you’re close to solving it."
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Over the many years of being in-charge and having to make decisions, there have been many occasions when someone would come to talk to me about a new venture, an opportunity, or a change. In all these decisions there were elements of risk taking because all these decisions involved breaking from the existing norm or status quo.
While there may be different degrees of risks, “calculated risk”, “considered risk” or simply “dangerous and nonsensical risk”, the latter of which I am not advocating, there will come a time for leaders in organisations to decide. Leaders who are in privileged positions, and who are paid to make difficult decisions need to prove their mettle. After careful evaluation on the pros and cos and risk mitigation strategies, the decision to “go for it” needs to be made.
No decision is risk free. There is risk even in getting into a taxi, when crossing a busy road and might I add, dining in an unfamiliar restaurant. As with all risk management decisions it is about making progress. Here is a simple but thought provoking adage, popularly attributed to John A. Shedd worth remembering; “A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
Photo Credit: Zetong Li on Unsplash
Steven
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