Risk takers
At two schools I visited in the past year the teachers encourage the children to be risk takers. I have not liked the schools' choice of phrasing. I would have preferred the framing to be about adventuring. About enjoying the experience and the journey, rather than being an adrenaline seeker. But then I gained an understanding for what they optimise for.
When the teachers talk about risk takers, they mean being courageous. Doing something new with someone you don’t know. About being vulnerable and opening yourself to judgement or criticism. Because fear of consequences can mean the kids avoid taking action altogether.
The counterpart of being vulnerable is building trust and a feeling of belonging. Of feeling secure in your environment so that you feel safe to try new things. Kids learn by playing. But so do adults. By trying and failing and trying again.
In Primed to Perform, Neel Doshi and Lindsay McGregor discuss play as one of the direct motives for better performance in the workplace. Play is all about being curious and experimenting with new things. If we are afraid to try, our learning will falter. If we feel safe in our environment to experiment, and learn from our failures. Then we continue to grow our professional skills. As leaders, we must create an environment where people feel safe to be curious, to ask questions, and to experiment. An environment where people feel trust and belonging to their team. And an environment where they can be competent. Because in that environment, teams prosper, innovate, perform, and deliver.