To Act, Meet your Inner Risk Manager

A few years ago, when I started contemplating bigger career choices and working with my coach, David Lesser, he sat me down, so we could chat face to face. I thought it’d just be the two of us, but he invited a third guest to sit right next to me which he called my “inner risk manager.” That’s right, I sat in one chair and my inner risk manager in the other so we could all understand what happens when I’m contemplating making a change. 

I discovered that avoiding my inner risk manager has little advantage. Doing so is counting on blind luck and serendipity to keep me safe. I also learned that my inner risk manager had developed some pretty effective strategies when wrestling with my more optimistic and ambitious self. One of these is “worst case scenario planning ahead of time” or as a recent expert called it, doing “pre-mortems.” I use this skill to both face my fears versus ignoring the real downside risks of any new choice, but more importantly to shrink my fears enough to get into action.

In #ChoosePossiblity, David comments that “most people have a very immature relationship with their inner risk manager,”,and that doesn’t do us much good in becoming a calculated risk-taker or chooser. So, next time you’re contemplating a new risk, take a moment and ask your inner risk manager to pull up a chair to join the conversation. You might be surprised to learn that embracing this side of you is potentially more beneficial than avoiding it.