How To Bet Big

Throughout your career in a leadership role, you’ll have opportunities to take risks. If successful, you reap rewards. If not, well then what? You may be tempted to hold back, to minimize the downside in every situation. Instead, here’s how to bet big and come out on top.

Low risk, then high risk. Don’t start with a high-risk proposition. Start small, and build on that taking bigger risks as you get your footing. Take bigger opportunities and divide them into a number of phases so you don’t take on the biggest risks from the outset. As you increase your risk, your tolerance level also grows. 

Fail. In any situation, you have to be able to fail. Look at failure as an opportunity to learn, to move on and to overcome fear. The majority of leaders don’t know how to fail well, aren’t prepared to acknowledge it, analyze what went wrong, and try again. If you develop your ability to immediately lean in to failure and grow from it, you’ll become unafraid of it, and take bigger bets down the road.

Be vulnerable. One of the greatest assets you can have when betting big is the trust of others, including your team. This takes a certain vulnerability—being okay with who you are and confident in your decision-making process. Don’t avoid discomfort. If someone points out a blind spot or a weakness in you personally, you win, because you will learn. Many leaders suffer from the wall they build around themselves. When you don’t let others in, you lose valuable perspectives that can help you assess and move into risky areas.

Live with an open hand. The most successful risk-takers are able to accept solutions from unexpected places. As a leader, learn to put down your way of thinking and doing things and pick up another if it works for where you are going. Be ready and willing to shift. Hold your ideas and processes with an open hand. If they’re working, great. If not, retaining them too long can hinder instead of help.