FOLLOW THE LEADERearly in his life of leadership. If he will not take risks, he cannot lead.
It’s that simple. There is just no such thing as leadership without risk.
Virtually every book I have ever read on leadership addresses the issue
of risk at some point or another. Realizing the importance of the risk
factor in leadership, I want to share a few helpful insights from a variety
of writers:
- By far the biggest mistake people make when trying to change
organizations is to plunge ahead without establishing a high
enough sense of urgency in fellow managers and employees...
Establishing a sense of urgency is crucial to gaining needed
cooperation...If many others don’t feel the same sense of
urgency, the momentum for change will probably die far short
of the finish line...Creating a strong sense of urgency usually
demands bold or even risky actions that we normally associate
with good leadership.^8 - The most striking thing about highly effective leaders is how
little they have in common. What one swears by, another warns
against. But one trait stands out: the willingness to risk.^9 - Leadership is especially risky because every time you make a
decision you run the risk of being wrong, but you also run
the risk of being right!...At each destination point on my
journey, I was always faced with the decision to take the risk
of a new opportunity or stay comfortable where I was at the
time.^10 - I believe that if we have nothing we’re willing to die for, we
really have nothing worth living for.^11 - The greatest achievements in the history of missions have come
from leaders close to God who took courageous, calculated
risks...More failure comes from an excess of caution than
from bold experiments with new ideas.^12