Your ability to take intelligent risk is one of the most important skills you’ll need to develop and grow your business, or enhance your career. Many women associate risk with being impulsive and spontaneous, and yet we don’t typically choose to put ourselves in a position where we aren’t in control. What we need to understand is that by not taking action or assessing our options proactively, we will be leaving those decisions to someone else. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

To illustrate the point, a recent report by the Small Business Administration (SBA) finds that successful leaders and executives all share the following attributes:

• They are committed to their success
• Have a passion and ambition for their profession
• Set clear objectives for themselves and their companies
• Are skilled risk takers

The report states that the aversion to risk impacts women far more than men-- specifically when it comes to developing their businesses to their full marketplace potential. Overall, women are more conservative than men in making business growth decisions. If this assessment sounds like you, there’s good news.

Being a risk-taker is not inherently dangerous. Instead, it requires us to view risk as a necessary tool. You need to know how and when to draw upon it as you do other skills and experiences. There are three keys to developing your risk muscle:

1. Re-define your definition of risk

2. Understand the Fear

3. Shift from being a perfectionist to precision and preparation

• Re-define the definition of Risk.

Viewing risk as a positive instead of a negative is a huge first step. Look up the term risk. The meaning itself does not connote a positive outlook : Danger, Jeopardy, Peril, Hazard. Craft a new definition that revolves around Possibility, Chance, Opportunity, Venture, and Choice. This shift in perception has an immediate payoff.

• Understand the role that Fear occupies

Most women say that fear is the primary obstacle to becoming a seasoned risk taker. Fear is a self-limiting behavior that we must disarm in order to charge forward. Assess if your fear is rooted in ‘making the wrong’ decision, or if this is an unfounded course of action. Most decisions in life are not fatal. Make a decision and if it’s not the right one, make another one. You know the difference. If you are still uncertain, ask yourself what’s the upside/downside taking the risk.

Research done by Princeton psychology professor Daniel Kahneman showed that when confronted with a decision, most people say they would rather err on the side of unreasonable caution. The downside, according to Kahneman is that we ignore the big picture and the result is a timid decision that can lead to mistakes. Risk-taking breeds confidence.

• Strive for Precision and let go of Perfection

Women take incredible risks everyday, however we typically don’t acknowledge it. I watch women take incredible risks everyday, and they do it by calling upon all of their senses, experiences and best guesses.

Remember, the game of risk is not about perfection; it is about making the best decision you can at the time, and being prepared for what’s next. An area by the way the women are awesome at. We spend our whole lives creating a plan a, b and c. The next time you are stuck ask yourself if you are aiming for perfection, when being close enough will get the job done.

While we spend much of our time becoming experts in our field and technically knowledgeable, we tend to overlook the inner voice and are missing the confidence required to engage the risk muscle. The result is that we tend to have a skewed and uncomfortable relationship with risk.

Start flexing your muscle- Choose a current situation that requires you to step into risk:

1. Assess and evaluate the risk:

- Who and What is involved?

- How does this fit into your overall game plan?

- What emotional chord does it strike within you?

- What’s the upside/downside of taking the risk?

- What’s the upside/downside of not taking the risk?

- Is it ego or passion speaking to you?

2. Describe the fear associated around that risk
3. Where in your life have you taken a risk because you felt it was the right thing to do? What happened?
4. Now, make a decision and implement

The rewards of taking intended or calculated risks are limitless. Ultimately, you will find that risk-taking becomes the vehicle to promote yourself, your ideas and your image.