Risk Tolerance

I sat at my desk, with my head in my hands.

Trying to pluck up the courage to hit send on the email.

Every bone in my body, was screaming at me to go and get the partner’s sign-off. For her to tell me the advice was on-point and that it was good to go.

The only problem was….

She had told me the week before, that I needed to start working more independently. Basically – stop running everything past me Alex!

And she had a point. At that level, I was being paid to make decisions. And she was far too expensive to be spending time making those decisions for me.

But let me tell you – hitting send on that email was PAINFUL! 😀

It was painful because I had to take a RISK.

😱  There was a chance I would get something wrong.

😱. There was a chance people would be annoyed at me as a result.

Those possibilities were REAL. And they felt dangerous.

Everything I had been taught up to that point, was about getting things “right”. And now I had to risk the exact opposite. It hurt. 😀

I wish someone had told me at the time – that a fundamental part of progression, is the ability to tolerate risk. And to spell it out, that means being willing to MAKE MISTAKES in pursuit of becoming MORE valuable overall.

That is Risk Tolerance. 

Letting go of our attachment to perfection, learning how to take calculated risks, and managing our mind around the consequences.

It’s not always easy, but it IS rocket fuel for your career progression. 🚀

This is the work that I do with my clients in my Coaching Program. Helping them build their risk tolerance, so they can perform at a higher level and position themselves for senior roles.