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Dare to Dare 133

would be willing to give up a sure thing to take on a risky, albeit potentially
consequential task? Yet rather than fearing failure, this individual was excited
about the ultimate goal of limiting capital risk, and he welcomed the chance
to take on a new challenge. He was enticed to accept the company’s offer by
the chance to spearhead something new. “That’s how you learn and how the
best products are developed,” he said.

The Many Forms of Risk

It is usually taken for granted that risks in the business world are financial,
but in our experience, risks come in various forms. A risk might involve change
in a leader’s personal behavior, management style, or willingness to place
more trust in co-workers or lower-level employees. Generally, a number of
risks must be taken if a company is to reach its peak performance.
One of our clients was unable to risk making needed behavioral change
until he was forced into it by circumstance. He was an executive and part
owner of a family company. Within the company, he was perceived as an
autocrat. Workers complained about his high-handed behavior and his
abrupt way of giving orders. The complaints finally reached the company’s
CEO after it became clear that the executive in question had completely lost
the trust of his workers. The output of his department was suffering, and it
was losing money.
During discussions with this executive, we pointed out that discontent
with his management style was undermining employee morale, and, even
worse, affecting his efficiency. He had a tough time accepting our assessment
at first, but in the end, he acquiesced. We encouraged him to take what for
him was an enormous risk: He empowered his staff by giving them informa-
tion on business goals and performance and by asking them to participate in
problem solving.
After three years of coaching, this executive was finally able to relax con-
trol and stop micromanaging everything in his department. He eventually
became so comfortable with trusting his employees that he could even skip
meetings, thus giving them more say. Because he was able to take a difficult
personal risk, he reversed his department’s decline.
Over the years, we have discovered that the risk of changing often holds
a company or an individual back until the time comes when it is forced to
make a choice. Threatened by competition or saddled with a product that