RISK AND RESILIENCE
Where are you on the journey to making bold choices, new ideas, challenging the status quo, and failing fast a normal part of “the way things get done around here”? How does your company culture stack up? Are great ideas nurtured and supported? Do they die an early death because employees keep their heads down and are careful not to make waves?
TAKE QUIZ
How would your employees rate these statements from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)?
Our leaders invite employees to challenge the status quo.
01
Our leaders create space for open, frank dialogue.
02
Employees are empowered to create new ways of doing things.
03
HOME
Employees are encouraged to take smart risks within boundaries and know what those boundaries are.
04
We intentionally hire people with diverse backgrounds in support of diverse thinking.
05
We provide training and development to our employees to support innovation and risk-taking.
06
We continuously look for ways to do things better.
07
Employees ask provocative questions and push the boundaries of what is possible.
08
Wild ideas are solicited and encouraged.
09
Employees respond quickly and adjust when faced with unanticipated obstacles or changes.
10
Our organizational systems and processes are relatively free of bureaucracy and allow employees to pivot when needed.
11
Our organizational structure makes it easy to get visibility, recognition, and rewards for innovative ideas.
12
Competitors and analysts want to know more about how we offer novel solutions for our customers.
13
Our culture supports communication in all directions, regardless of level.
14
We partner with people outside the company to develop new ideas.
15
YOUR SCORE
15-39
Your results indicate that you likely have a combination of organizational processes and systems, leader behaviors, and employee reticence holding you back from being a resilient, innovative organization. Work with your executive team to reach an agreement on critical leader behaviors, which will create a safe environment for employees to contribute their best ideas and be willing to fail. Follow up regularly to discuss successes and barriers to innovation. Consider partnering with an expert from outside your organization to conduct an unbiased assessment of how your processes and systems are inhibiting a healthy pipeline of insights and challenges. Try new things. Test. Take risks.
LET'S TALK
40-59
It looks like you’re on the path to building an environment where it’s safe to challenge. Take a look at your leadership team. Is innovation expected from select groups, while others get a pass? How can you set expectations across the board? Collect information from a cross-section of employees about which organizational processes and systems support innovation and where barriers exist. Prioritize actions that will have the most significant impact on unleashing potential greatness that is being stifled.
60-75
Congratulations! You’ve been at this for a while! What do your results tell you about existing obstacles to innovation? How do you onboard new employees to your culture and encourage them to contribute their best ideas? What feedback mechanisms exist to inform you about where insights are getting stuck? How are you rewarding and recognizing contributions to the pool of ideas—even those that don’t get implemented? How are you continuing to assess whether you’re holding on too tightly to existing ways of doing things?
