Human beings are risk averse. This is evident in corporate goal setting and in everyday language. People like to under promise and overdeliver. Chances are your sales team is playing it safe, and it’s limiting your growth.
Making commitments that one doesn’t know for certain will be successful can be uncomfortable for anyone, especially those in business and sales. Their reputation, bonuses and advancement are all at risk. When evaluating the short-term risks, people often miss the bigger picture of what the risk could deliver in building wealth, reputation or future success.
What could be possible for your sales team if they set bold goals for the year ahead and were playing big instead of playing safe? Here are three ways to start building a culture where people play big and take risks.
1. Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
It’s uncomfortable for most people to set bold goals they don’t know how to fully achieve because it introduces the risk of failure. What is meant by bold and uncomfortable?
Think of it on a continuum. At the far right is fantasy — things that are truly impossible. On the far left is predictable — the status quo, maintained by doing things the way you have been doing them. It’s important to focus on the middle, committing to goals that are possible but not predictable. People may not know how to get there and could fail along the way, so it is uncomfortable, but it is also worth playing for.
Part of why it’s worth it is because even if the full goal is not realized, it will be a catalyst for change, innovation and growth. Help your team adopt a mindset of “get comfortable being uncomfortable,” and you will start to see a different game being played.
2. Start With the Finish
One way to help your people declare bold goals is by encouraging them to think ahead by at least one year and write their goals as if they have already happened. Once people are freed from needing to know how, they can think big and dream in color about the future.
One example could be: “I doubled my book of business to $1 million, and successfully built relationships with 10 new accounts worth $200,000.” The more vivid, specific and clear the goal is, the more you and others will believe that it is possible. When working with your team, make sure they are setting specific and measurable goals, writing them in past or present tense, and sharing them with someone for accountability.
In research by Dr. Gail Matthews at Dominican University, more than 70% of people who wrote down their goals and held check-ins with an accountability partner reported success, compared to 35% of those who did not write or share them.
3. Reward Playing Big Regardless of the Outcome
Building a culture of playing big means creating the safety for people to take risks. Here are three exercises you can do in your team meetings to support a culture where your team plays big and takes risks.
- Ask your people to identify a time when they went for something and failed. What did they learn? What was the value of it? Encourage several people to share and discuss what they learned or gained from failure.
- Have your people write down one thing they have been putting off because of some level of fear (failure, judgment, or rejection). This could be reaching out to a senior level client, making a recommendation or sharing an idea.
Have them write down what difference taking action could make and the cost of playing it safe. Then, have them write down when they commit to taking this action. Have each person share with a partner what their commitment is.
- Ask people to share what they did and the difference it made. Acknowledge the value of thinking big and taking risks, regardless of the outcome. Share what you did, what difference it made for you, and if you failed, share that, too.
The origins of risk aversion traces back thousands of years, so overriding the system to create a culture where people play big and take risks takes time and intention. It’s challenging, but it’s worth it both in what your team gains and how they feel about the way they played.
