NEIL’S ARTICLE ON THE LINK BETWEEN LEADERSHIP AND RISK RECENTLY APPEARED IN THE “IN-CUMBRIA” MAGAZINE.
READ BELOW OR VISIT In Cumbria Magazine – Page 62
There is a strong link between leadership and risk. Effective leaders take calculated risk in order to achieve significant objectives. Taking calculated risk isn’t the same as putting £15 into a fruit machine, it is more like a well-informed and well-trained surgeon making a decision to operate in order to save or improve life.
Where the people at the head of the organisation are unable to take risk, there is unlikely to be growth. Last week I spent quite a day with Craig Mathieson, a very accomplished explorer who founded and leads the Polar Academy. Every year Craig takes a group of 30 young people on an arctic expedition to Greenland, he has been running the Polar Academy for 9 years. Craig and his team deliberately select the young people who most need the experience; in many cases victims of domestic and sexual violence, bullying and poverty with a significant number so hurt they are on suicide watch, and he puts them through a serious of calculated and well-managed risks.
The selection process is incredibly demanding with one test requiring trainees to tie 3 knots consecutively whilst say in an upturned kayak in a swimming pool. Be honest, you probably wouldn’t want to do that, but amazingly no trainee has ever failure the test. Then months of hard training, much of it dragging tyres along beaches or through undulating woodland, culminates with a gripping helicopter ride over icy seas to get to Tasilaq, from where they embark on 10 days of unsupported arctic travel in the wild and polar bear inhabited interior of Greenland. And here is the thing, for every young person who has been through the Polar Academy, the experience has been transformational – the experience changes the trajectory of their lives. Craig talks about them ‘leaving their darkness on the ice’ – a unique moment for every team member where they make the mental breakthrough to a better future. I should also add that every year Craig finds the funding to keep the organisation running – the young people and their families don’t pay a penny.
So last week Craig told his story as part of Senior Leadership Team retreat I was running (we have done this a couple of times), and then we spent four hours drawing out the lessons from Craig’s way of working. We talked about the importance of trust, of people being very honest about how they feel (the young people keep a diary, and every evening share their diaries), and in always looking for the next objective.
But now, a few days on, for me the standout point is that without a willingness to take calculated risk, none of this would have happened. I wonder how you view risk in your organisation or business? Without any risk, things decline – slowly, but certainly.
And I think this principle applies in every walk of life, we need a willingness to step into the unknown – but to do so with the right people, the right preparation, and the right support.
If you are interested in Craig’s work then you’ll find a BBC Scotland documentary called ‘Arctic Academy’ which covered a full year with the Polar Academy.
I have written more about decision making in ‘The Leadership Book”.
