Have you ever said that to yourself?\u00a0 Well, as it turns out, there is a reason people don\u2019t take on challenges unless you direct them . . . and you\u2019re probably looking at that reason every morning in the mirror.\u00a0 If you really want people to take a few risks, be creative, and show a little entrepreneurial spirit, you can\u2019t just hope for it or pay lip service to it.\u00a0 You have to work at it, invest in it, and demonstrate it in highly visible ways.\u00a0 For some thoughts on how to create an environment where people are willing to \u201cshow a little initiative,\u201d please read below.<\/p>\n
So why don\u2019t (most) people show more initiative?\u00a0 Simple.\u00a0 It\u2019s fear.\u00a0 Fear of failure.\u00a0 Fear of punishment if things go wrong.\u00a0 Fear that the boss will lose faith in me.\u00a0 Fear that I will lose respect among my peers.\u00a0 Fear that a bad outcome will bite me in the wallet.\u00a0 Lots of fears.\u00a0 All kinds of them.\u00a0 So when people see a problem or an opportunity, they\u2019ll wait for the boss to tell them what to do because then, if the thing goes south, it\u2019s the boss\u2019s problem, right?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s all about leadership and trust.\u00a0 The CEO has to set the tone, has to make it \u201csafe\u201d to fail once in awhile.\u00a0 In fact, the message should be, if we\u2019re not stubbing our toes here and there, we\u2019re probably not challenging and pushing ourselves enough.\u00a0 So rather than treat a failure as something icky like roadkill, let\u2019s celebrate it as a learning experience.\u00a0 Treat it like a case study.\u00a0 Here\u2019s what we did, here\u2019s why we did it, here\u2019s what we thought would happen, and here\u2019s what actually happened.\u00a0 OK, so what did we learn from that?\u00a0 The CEO must guard against finger pointing and anyone playing the blame game.\u00a0 Even more than that, he or she must model the behavior.\u00a0 The CEO may say that mistakes and failures are expected when you\u2019re showing initiative, but no one will believe it until they see the CEO do it.<\/p>\n
Keep in mind, we\u2019re not talking mistakes or failures that come from carelessness, laziness, inattention, or ineptitude.\u00a0 Obviously, we don\u2019t want to celebrate those kinds of problems.\u00a0 No, we\u2019re talking about well-intentioned people, jumping into foreign situations, and doing their best to get a favorable outcome.<\/p>\n
A key to making it \u201csafe\u201d for people to show initiative is to have strong corporate values, the sum of which make up your corporate culture.\u00a0 Your people have to know and understand those values so they become the framework for them to make decisions and engage in activities without fearing that those decisions and activities will get them in trouble.\u00a0 In fact, if you\u2019re not confident that you have a set of values in place that are known and understood by everyone, you probably should start there before you push \u201ctaking initiative\u201d too hard.\u00a0 Without a firm grasp of those values to guide them, your people will just be winging it and you will probably get some unwelcome outcomes.<\/p>\n
Taking initiative means stepping out of your comfort zone, engaging in problems or opportunities you haven\u2019t engaged in before.\u00a0 Mistakes and failures will happen along the way.\u00a0 It\u2019s inevitable.\u00a0 But it\u2019s on-the-job training and it\u2019s the nature of learning what works and what doesn\u2019t work.\u00a0 Allowing people to be creative, to take risks, and to take initiatives can be expensive in both time and money, but it\u2019s worth it.\u00a0 It helps your people grow and develop entrepreneurial instincts so that ultimately, they can help you grow your business.<\/p>\n
Is freeing your people to be creative and to take risks a little scary?\u00a0 Is all this \u201cvalues\u201d stuff a little foreign to you?\u00a0 Call me.\u00a0 We should talk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Have you ever said that to yourself?\u00a0 Well, as it turns out, there is a reason people don\u2019t take on challenges unless you direct them . . . and you\u2019re probably looking at that reason every morning in the mirror.\u00a0 If you really want people to take a few risks, be creative, and show a<\/p>\n