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Mastering the Art of Risk Taking: The 7 Core Attributes of Success
- Julien Haye
- Jun 27
- 10 min read
“If this does not work, what happens? We might lose everything.”
Less than two years later, my parents did lose almost everything.
“Effective risk taking is not reckless. It’s informed, collaborative, and grounded in self-awareness.” — Julien Haye
Behind every bold decision, there’s usually a moment of hesitation. One shaped by trust, clarity, and courage. In The Risk Within, I explored how psychological safety influences how we perceive and respond to risk. This article builds on that foundation by unpacking seven core attributes that make risk taking not just effective, but meaningful.
When teams or organisations are clear on what they are trying to achieve, can speak honestly with each other, and treat learning as part of the process, risk becomes something they work with. Not something to fear. And not a gamble that leads to personal or professional fallout.
Risk is part of every decision. The consequences of getting it right or wrong often determine whether we succeed or fail. That’s why effective risk taking is so important. It’s not about eliminating uncertainty, but about approaching it with purpose, structure, and awareness.
In this article, I walk through the seven attributes that support a healthier and more capable approach to risk. These are practical, people-focused ideas that can help shape stronger outcomes in uncertain times.
What Is Risk Taking?
Risk taking is the act of making a decision or pursuing an action when the outcome is uncertain. It involves a willingness to move forward without having full control over the result, often tied to values, goals, or change.
In simple terms, risk taking means stepping into the unknown. It could mean challenging assumptions, launching a new product, or making a difficult call. Each of these choices involves uncertainty and reflects a conscious decision to act.
Risk taking behaviour varies. Some people are naturally more cautious. Others move fast. What matters is not whether someone takes risks, but how they take them. The best risk decisions are informed, deliberate, and aligned with purpose.
Why Do People Take Risks?
Risk is often treated as something to avoid, but the truth is that we take risks every day. Sometimes we do it deliberately, and often without even realising it. We take risks to grow, to protect what matters, or to move toward something better. At its core, risk taking reflects a willingness to change the current state, to solve a problem, respond to a threat, or pursue an opportunity.
Not all risks are equal. Some come from a place of curiosity or conviction. Others come from fear or pressure. Some are carefully thought through, while others are taken on instinct. What matters is not just the risk itself, but why we take it and how we choose to manage it.
In organisations, risk taking becomes more complex. There are more people involved, more competing priorities, and often a lack of complete information. Add to that the weight of legacy, unclear incentives, and fear of failure, and it is easy to see why many teams either rush decisions or avoid them altogether.
Understanding how risk takers think helps us move beyond compliance and surface the deeper factors that shape behaviour. It gives us a foundation to build more thoughtful, confident, and resilient approaches to risk. Approaches that support better decisions and deliver real outcomes.
Our Risk Leadership Diagnostics help leaders identify behavioural blind spots and shape more accountable risk decisions.
Attribute 1: Clear Objectives
Clarity of purpose is the foundation of any meaningful risk decision. Without it, actions drift, trade-offs become unclear, and the risk conversation loses focus.
Effective risk-taking starts by being brutally honest about what you are actually trying to achieve. Not just the headline ambition, but the tangible outcomes that matter. The real reasons behind the project, the shift in behaviour you're hoping to see, or the change you need to enable.
When objectives are clear, they act as a reference point. They help teams filter noise, identify what risks are worth focusing on, and decide which uncertainties or risky situations are acceptable in pursuit of the goal, or when to avoid risks. They also create a shared language across functions, which reduces the kind of confusion that often leads to duplication, paralysis, or misaligned risk appetite.
Too often, I have seen teams work from assumed objectives rather than explicit ones. The result is a disconnect between strategy and action, and a risk process that ends up more about box ticking than meaningful decision making.
Clarity does not guarantee success. But it creates the conditions for people to act with intent, assess trade-offs more effectively, and stay aligned when the pressure builds.
Attribute 2: Anticipating Obstacles
Once the objective is clear, the next step is to look ahead and consider what might get in the way. This is not about running a complex risk workshop or creating a long list of unlikely scenarios. It is about making space to ask the simple but often overlooked question: what could go wrong?
This kind of thinking happens naturally when the risk feels personal. We pause before taking a financial leap, changing jobs, or committing to something that stretches us. The same habit should apply inside organisations, especially when decisions affect others or carry long-term consequences.
Anticipating obstacles is not a sign of fear or pessimism. It is a way to challenge assumptions and think more clearly about the conditions needed for success. It means considering timing, capacity, relationships, and external influences. It means involving others who may see things from a different angle.
This approach is not about being overly cautious. It is about being ready. The goal is not to eliminate uncertainty but to become more aware of it. That awareness helps teams focus their efforts, adjust their plans, and stay resilient when things do not go as expected.
Thinking ahead, even briefly, often makes the difference between a manageable setback and a costly mistake.
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Attribute 3: Risk Tolerance
Not all risks are worth taking. And not all teams are built to take the same kind of risks. Knowing where your limits are, and why they exist, is essential.
Risk tolerance is about understanding how much uncertainty you are prepared to live with in pursuit of a goal. It is shaped by many things, including past experiences, available resources, internal pressure, and the surrounding culture. Some people are comfortable with ambiguity. Others need firmer ground to feel confident in their decisions.
What matters is not having the same level of tolerance across the board, but being clear about where the boundaries are. That clarity supports better decisions and more honest conversations. It helps avoid situations where people agree publicly but hesitate privately. It also prevents risk processes from becoming too rigid or too vague to be useful.
In practice, this means asking direct questions. What are we willing to lose or trade off to achieve this outcome? What level of failure is acceptable? Where do we need safeguards, and where can we afford to stretch?
When risk tolerance is known and respected, people are more likely to speak up early, take thoughtful risks, and recover quickly when things do not go to plan.
What’s your natural approach when faced with a high-stakes decision?
I pause and reflect before deciding
I act quickly and adapt as I go
I seek advice and alignment first
I avoid it unless absolutely necessary
Attribute 4: Turning Insight into Action
Recognising a risk is only useful if it leads to action. Once you understand what might get in the way, and how much uncertainty you are prepared to accept, the next step is to decide what to do about it.
This is where risk taking becomes practical. It is not about eliminating every possibility of failure. It is about making choices that reflect your priorities, your constraints, and your level of comfort with uncertainty. Sometimes that means reducing the chance of something going wrong. Sometimes it means preparing to deal with the impact if it does. And sometimes it means moving ahead anyway, knowing the risk is worth it and accepting that failure may be part of the learning process.
Too often, people treat risk responses as a formality. They follow a process, fill in a form, or reuse an old plan without questioning whether it fits the current situation. But real risk decisions are context specific. They need to be shaped by what is happening on the ground and thought through with the people involved. This is one of the reasons why many risk frameworks, such as the Risk and Control Self-Assessment, often feel disconnected from the operational and strategic reality of the organisation they are meant to support.
The best responses are usually the simplest. A clear next step. A back-up plan. A conversation that surfaces something uncomfortable before it becomes a problem. Action does not need to be perfect. It needs to be deliberate.
Turning insight into action is what keeps risk management alive. It gives people something to work with. And it helps shift the conversation from what might happen to what we are going to do.
Attribute 5: Staying Alert and Adaptive
Good risk taking does not end once a decision is made. Conditions shift, assumptions change, and small signals can point to bigger issues ahead. That is why effective risk taking requires regular reflection, not just one-off assessment.
Staying alert means paying attention to whether things are unfolding as expected. Are we still on track? Are early warning signs being picked up and acted on? Are the risks we planned for the ones we are actually facing?
It is not about creating more reporting for the sake of it. It is about creating regular moments to step back, check in, and adjust. This might happen in a project review, a team conversation, or a quiet reflection on what feels off. The form matters less than the habit.
Adaptability is just as important. If something has changed, then the response may need to change too. Risk strategies should not be fixed in place. They need to evolve as new information comes in. That takes curiosity, honesty, and permission to revisit earlier decisions without blame.
Some of the most damaging outcomes happen not because a risk was missed, but because the situation changed and nobody noticed. Or they noticed, but did not act.
Staying alert and adaptive builds resilience over time. It helps teams stay in control, even when things do not go to plan. And it strengthens the link between risk awareness and everyday decision making.
Attribute 6: Working Together with Purpose
Risk taking is rarely a solo act. Most decisions involve different roles, teams, and perspectives. That is why purposeful collaboration is essential. It helps ensure that risks are understood, responses are coordinated, and actions align with what the organisation is actually trying to achieve.
When people work in isolation or avoid difficult conversations, critical information gets missed. Assumptions go untested. Signals are ignored or downplayed. Small issues become bigger because no one joined the dots early enough.
Working together with purpose means involving the right people at the right time. It means being clear about roles, responsibilities, and expectations. It also means creating the conditions for honest dialogue, where concerns can be raised and ideas shared without fear of judgement or blame.
This kind of collaboration does not require everyone to agree. What it does require is alignment around the goal and a shared understanding of the risks involved. When teams bring different perspectives to the table and stay connected to the purpose behind their decisions, risk taking becomes more intentional, more effective, and more resilient.
Strong communication and purposeful collaboration help surface blind spots, improve timing, and build trust across the organisation. They turn risk from something individuals carry alone into something teams manage together.
The Risk Within provides a roadmap for embedding psychological safety into risk management. It identifies critical touch points across the risk lifecycle and offers clear actions to align leadership, culture, and governance. It is designed to help risk functions integrate more deeply into the business and strengthen decision-making at every level.
Attribute 7: Learning and Adapting
There are lessons to be learned from every risk decision. Some come from success. Many come from failure. What matters is whether those lessons are recognised, shared, and used to shape what happens next.
Learning and adapting is not just a process. It is a mindset. One that treats experience as a source of value, not just a record of outcomes. One that sees failure as part of progress, not something to avoid or bury.
In practice, this might look like a short team reflection after a project, a conversation about a near miss, or a structured review of why something did not go as planned. These moments are most powerful when they are safe, honest, and focused on insight. Not blame. Not perfection. Just learning.
Failure, when explored with care, reveals what our assumptions missed, where plans fell short, and how people responded under pressure. These are the lessons that improve judgment, build resilience, and support better decisions next time.
Organisations that create space for this kind of learning build trust. They encourage people to speak up, share mistakes, and take smarter risks in future. And they develop a more mature, human approach to risk that strengthens both performance and culture.
Learning and adapting closes the loop. It connects action to reflection and turns experience into capability.
Conclusion
Effective risk taking is not a matter of luck or instinct. It is a skill that can be built, shaped by how we think, how we work together, and how we respond when things do not go as planned.
These seven attributes are habits and mindsets that support better decisions, stronger teams, and more resilient outcomes. Clarity of purpose. Awareness of what could get in the way. An honest understanding of what we can tolerate. The ability to act with intention, stay alert to change, collaborate with purpose, and learn as we go.
In The Risk Within, I explored how psychological safety underpins many of these behaviours. When people feel safe to speak up, question assumptions, and recover from failure, risk taking becomes more informed, more inclusive, and more sustainable.
In a world that often rewards speed and certainty, taking risk well is about something deeper. It is about staying grounded, staying curious, and building the confidence to move forward even when the outcome is not guaranteed.
That is the real art of risk taking.
About the Author: Julien Haye
Managing Director of Aevitium LTD and former Chief Risk Officer with over 26 years of experience in global financial services and non-profit organisations. Known for his pragmatic, people-first approach, Julien specialises in transforming risk and compliance into strategic enablers. He is the author of The Risk Within: Cultivating Psychological Safety for Strategic Decision-Making and hosts the RiskMasters podcast, where he shares insights from risk leaders and change makers.
FAQs
1. What is risk taking in a business context?
Risk taking in business involves making decisions under uncertainty in order to achieve strategic objectives. It means stepping outside of comfort zones to pursue opportunities, while being aware of potential downsides and planning accordingly.
2. Why is effective risk taking important for leaders?
It allows leaders to innovate, respond to change, and drive growth. When grounded in clear goals, open dialogue, and shared accountability, it becomes a tool for progress rather than a gamble.
3. What are examples of risk taking at work?
Examples include launching a new product, entering a new market, speaking up about a concern, or making a bold strategic pivot. These actions involve uncertainty, but also potential for positive impact when approached with intent.
4. How does psychological safety influence risk taking?
Psychological safety encourages people to speak up, share concerns, and take calculated risks without fear of blame. It creates the conditions for better decision-making and collaborative risk taking.
5. What are the key attributes of effective risk taking?
They include having clear goals, making time to think critically, acting deliberately, learning from outcomes, working together with purpose, and being willing to challenge assumptions.
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