"All Change in history, all advancement comes from non-conformity. If there had been no troublemakers, no dissenters, we would still be living in caves"-APJ Taylor, Historian
Taking cues and responses to the write up published previously, I'm taking a leap of faith to start publishing my perspectives. Something I believe am bad at and hopeful that I will improve with time. Your responses and viewpoints much appreciated.
Risk takers are my favorite profile of people. We owe it to them for having been the positive change agent throughout the evolution and after. They are loaded with experiences, that others can only dream of. Not confined to framework, their imagination and exploration found new ways of doing things and have helped the world anticipate, adapt and accept change. They had the courage to lose and a history of winning. They changed the world.
The reference to the dimension of risk taking is from a positive point of view. Risking to be able:
- To live ones values
- To do the right thing
- To challenge status quo
- To find out more about self and other
- To explore outside of comfort zone
- To meet new people from myriad backgrounds
- To develop interests into career path
- To be able to handle the environment
- To able to handle dangers and disasters
the list is endless..refer the list of fears :)
The ability is an outcome of what fuels it...either through positive environment which provides the encouragement to take risks or as revolt to ones situation. There may be other reasons, but this is my perspective.
I would like to share an incident as simple example of encouraging positive risk taking.
There was a boy in my neighborhood, who at the age of 6 or 7, had no fear whatsoever, of handling live crabs, snakes, or fire. Handling these, were literally child's play for this kid. During a 'Diwali' (indian festival of lights) night, with firecrackers in front pocket of his shorts and a lit incense stick in his hand, he was playing with fireworks unsupervised. He handled the crackers carelessly and his rather adventurous indulgence ended in an accident. He ended up with second degree burns.
It took few months for the boy to heal and recover. But before he could fully recover, his father brought him out onto the street an was given a cracker and an incense stick. Limping and scared, the boy started burst crackers. The neighborhood was in disbelief of what they saw. The incident was a popular discussion topic in every household for the wrong reasons. I was given a special class on why crackers are dangerous :). The debate was about why the father is not instilling fear in the child.
I recognize of the father's intent to rekindle the spirit of handling the risk in his child. He'd rather have his son conquer the fear than let him succumb to the experience.
An Israeli study conducted in the year 1996 on molecular genetics reveals the existence of the "risk-gene" as was labeled as "Dopamine Receptor-4" and is responsible for 10% of human behavior. The gene rests in the limbic portion of the brain which is responsible for emotional behavior and memory. While the ability to take risks becomes personality trait overtime, there is scope to develop this ability some extent.
It is heartening to see Indian college going kids who are set to finish college in the next 5 years being able to take road less traveled and make beautiful career choices, thanks to a myriad of options shown in recent Bollywood movies. The same is not exactly true for those who passed out until 5 years ago. Many of us as people managers and leaders will be managing the talent pool which has not been prepared or conditioned to take risks. They have been groomed to believe that success is tied to a dependable and stable job. Given how the economic downturns impact techno age workers, there is a need to build positive risk taking ability within the teams. While growth in responsibility and position is expected by this talent pool, little do we find those who are willing to risk it and take responsibility for their actions.
The leadership searches worldwide look for contenders for top positions, with the ability to take risks. As a leader, creating an environment of positive risk taking earn trust. It motivates people to make mistakes, learn from it and move on and further take organization to the next level performance. As leaders I hope you have the grit, comfort and inclination to taking risks.It is likely to open new and expected avenues.
Shalini Mohan and Lokesh Madan are 2 of good friends and ex-colleagues, who risked it to move out of the careers and made it in the music industry. Shalini is among the rarest of female bass guitarist and Lokesh, a fantastic vocalist both part of popular bands in India. Angana Roy another of my colleague who has made it good in the film industry. Happy for them to have taken the plunge.
"You will never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore"-Christopher Columbus
