Growth Requires Thoughtful Risk
Last week, we talked about influence — the quiet ripple of leadership.
Awareness matters.
But awareness alone does not change outcomes.
Growth requires movement.
And movement requires risk.
In early childhood settings, risk-taking rarely looks dramatic. It doesn’t mean overhauling systems or launching sweeping initiatives mid-year.
More often, it looks like this:
Trying a new transition strategy.
Reframing how you open a staff meeting.
Inviting honest feedback from your team.
Adjusting a long-standing routine.
Testing a small shift in communication with families.
These are not dramatic moves.
But they require something significant:
A willingness to step into uncertainty.
Risk-taking in leadership is not about being fearless.
It is about being willing.
Willing to experiment.
Willing to refine.
Willing to admit something could work better.
Comfort is powerful. Especially in March.
You know what works.
You know what’s “good enough.”
You know what won’t create disruption.
But comfort carries its own cost.
When leaders avoid experimentation, growth stalls.
When teams avoid feedback, blind spots widen.
When familiar routines go unquestioned, progress slows quietly.
Thoughtful risk-taking interrupts that drift.
It asks:
What small adjustment could improve clarity?
What conversation have I postponed because it feels inconvenient?
What practice have we accepted that deserves reexamination?
Risk-taking does not require dramatic overhaul.
It requires thoughtful experimentation.
Small, safe-to-try shifts compound over time.
Innovation spreads the same way stagnation does — through modeling.
When leaders try something new with intention, others feel permission to do the same.
That is how cultures evolve.
This week, consider:
What is one small, low-risk experiment I could initiate before spring break?
If you’re testing something new this month — even something small — reply and tell me what you’re experimenting with.
Progress rarely begins with perfection.
It begins with willingness.
— Deidre