A few years ago, I was facilitating a leadership session for a local business group. I asked audience members for their definition of success at their respective organizations. The attendees grew silent. Finally, one raised her hand and responded that success, for her and others at her company, was “not getting fired.” Her response was followed by other attendees’ heads nodding in agreement.
Needless to say, I was surprised by the response. We explored the concept further as a group and discovered that many of the attendees were in organizations where they thought it was in their best interest to “play it safe,” not take risks and just do their jobs. Apparently, maintaining the status quo was the perceived goal to achieving personal, professional and organizational “success” for some of the attendees.
Ironically, when I facilitate leadership retreats with top executives, one of the themes that consistently surfaces is that they are challenged with ways to encourage their existing teams to innovate and take risks. In fact, I have yet to meet a business owner or CEO who does not have a desire for their team to suggest new ideas that will support the organization’s success. So why, in some companies, is there a difference between how employees act and what top leadership expects?
If this disconnect is occurring in your company, consider the following:
Set the foundation — Ensure that your organization has a performance management and rewards program that supports risk-taking, challenging the status quo and sharing new ideas. The concepts should be part of your organization’s corporate values.
It starts at the top — The organizational leader needs to publicly share with employees that developing new and better ways of doing things at work is a performance expectation. And that the intention is to constantly challenge the status quo, even if it is apparently working. There is always a better way. And the organizational leader needs to ensure that every member of his/her management team is on board with supporting innovation.
Recognition — Ensure that your organization is recognizing innovation, new ideas and risk-taking. This can be accomplished at employee and management meetings in addition to company newsletters and other internal communications. The more public, the better. And whenever possible, the organizational leader should be the one recognizing the individual or groups responsible for taking risks. Recognition can take many forms, including promotions, compensation adjustments, gifts and/or public recognition.
Recruit and hire rebels — Not every employee is a risk-taker. Yet, for your business to succeed and grow, you need a core population of employees biased toward shaking things up and directed toward continuous process improvement. Hopefully, you know who these individuals are in your company. With prospective employees, ensure you have appropriate selection tools to be utilized during the recruitment process designed to identify candidates who take risks and embrace change.
The business climate is dynamic, and, for companies to succeed, adaptation and change is a requirement, not an option. To move forward, you need to have the right people in the right environment with the right leaders. Remember, if your staff only goes through the motions (which preserves the status quo), your organization will go nowhere, which is an awful place to be. The greatest risk your organization has today is not to take any risks at all.
