Key Takeaways
- Risk aversion is usually a result of rigid company systems, not employee laziness.
- Move beyond giving “permission” by implementing clear approval matrices and work-tiering systems. This gives teams the autonomy to act without waiting for top-down sign-offs.
- Make innovation a formal performance metric by rewarding initiative and calculated risk during career reviews. By integrating these values into your performance reviews, you turn creative problem-solving into a measurable goal for your team.
- Use formal recognition programs and peer nominations to celebrate those who challenge the status quo, making bold action a desirable cultural norm.
Listen: How to make a risk-tolerant and innovative creative team.
Creative leaders today are tasked with delivering the future in uncharted territory and with minimal support. Yet reaching that future requires crossing murky waters of change, climbing cloudy peaks of hierarchy, and often jumping off rugged cliffs with faith. In other words, it requires taking risks.
Data confirms that the majority of humans are risk averse. In fact, almost a third of brands consider themselves highly risk averse when making creative decisions, according to the LIONS Advisory 2025 State of Creativity Study. But there is no change without risk—and no progress without change.
So how can leaders help their teams move past risk aversion to adopt new technologies and ways of work? We tackled that question in a recent InsideOut roundtable with smart Creative and Marketing Operations leaders who live this challenge daily. By starting with the “why” behind risk avoidance, we identified key obstacles and concrete ideas.
What's really behind your team's risk aversion?
Scanning job market headlines yields ample reasons for workers to avoid risk: they fear losing their jobs. And though it’s easy to assume that some team members are lazy or set in their ways, which may or may not be true, by digging deeper, we discovered that workplace culture is often the biggest obstacle to progress.
In hybrid or remote structures, the challenge is more pronounced. Few companies have forged communication systems that truly connect their employees. Without role models of good behavior, concerns about overstepping boundaries lead to “safe” behavior that reduces conflict. As companies constantly reorganize, the struggle to know who’s in charge, what they want, and how you fit is real.
One leader identified a “Ruby Slipper” culture problem where team members fail to recognize their power and wait for permission instead of taking initiative. (Dorothy could have gone home much earlier in The Wizard of Oz; she had those ruby slippers the whole time!) He advised his creative leader, who was seeking consistency from a new VP, to seize their power and not wait.
Another barrier to change is an excessive focus on perfection over speed and simplicity. The very concept of rigid processes and rules to follow creates an environment where following the right system overrides making the best choice for the business. While quality and efficiency still rule, striking a balance is tricky.
Why systemic changes are the best cure for risk aversion
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of fixing systemic issues, let’s talk about table stakes. Leaders in our session agreed that top-down support is critical: model risk-taking, give teams permission to make mistakes, and visibly back decisions without second-guessing. When employees see that taking action is safer than inaction, they’ll be more likely to embrace it.
Even in remote cultures, leaders can model this behavior in written communications and larger group meetings by sharing their own mistakes and proving that risk can catalyze innovation. But without addressing the systems that reinforce behavior, leadership buy-in alone will fail.
Make it easy to make the best decision
As leadership changes (CMO tenure dropped again this year), so does direction, making simple and flexible decision-making systems essential for teams hoping to weather change. One leader realized that CMO sign-off on every creative asset, though requested, inevitably caused delays and could be delegated with checks in place to keep senior leaders informed.
By deploying a simple approval matrix to clarify final approvers, alongside a work-tiering system to signal project importance, leaders can tie desired actions to desired business outcomes without squashing creativity. Using templates for executional work that doesn't require approvals is another way to streamline decision-making while ensuring consistent outcomes.
Another leader shared an HBR article that points out that while culture change is on most companies’ radar, achieving that change requires looking at the systems that drive it. Prioritizing compliance with complex processes over autonomy and learning stunts growth for the entire organization. Auditing workflows to remove bottlenecks gives staff more chances to use (and grow) the skills that got them hired in the first place.
Set performance goals for taking risks and learning from them
What gets measured gets prioritized, for better or worse. Most performance management systems focus on skill acquisition or quantifiable results. Participants in our roundtable recommended baking risk-taking and innovation directly into individual goals.
For example, one leader makes clear to team members that promotions are awarded to those who introduce new ideas and explore ways to improve the business. When promotions are announced, he publicly recognizes the risks they took, even if those initiatives didn’t generate the expected results. Setting clear expectations on the importance of adding value through risk-taking provides the goalposts and accountability needed for trial-and-error efforts.
Another leader noted that reviews are valuable for peer calibration across management. Their leadership team gathers to discuss how employees are embracing risk, driving innovation, and elevating the ability to change for others around the organization. By purposefully carving out time to calibrate on what exceptional performance looks like, these leaders are able to share stories that inspire their own teams to rise.
Make risk-taking wins and losses visible and desirable
Beyond ad hoc stories, leaders in our roundtable noted the power of creating a formal and intentional space to celebrate those who take risks. A leader in our roundtable shared his team’s quarterly recognition program for employees who demonstrate collaborative, innovative, and impact-driven traits.
Based on nominations from peers, directors select the staff to be recognized, boosting consistency at the management level on what’s valued. Though winners receive a gift card, the recognition is more effective than the nominal monetary reward. If creating an entire program is daunting, start small with the group that has the greatest influence on others.
Collecting and sharing the results of risk-taking behavior, from both inside and outside the organization, sparks creativity and normalizes bold decision-making. As one leader pointed out, the greatest risk to one’s career is never going beyond what’s explicitly requested. Create heroes out of your brave employees to exemplify the innovation-seeking actions you need to get ahead.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for building a risk-tolerant culture, since every workplace is unique. The first step is to identify where your team falls on the risk scale—then dig deeper to understand why. What you find may surprise you and will likely be easier to fix than you think.
Sure, we’re all still human, so eliminating risk avoidance can’t be the goal; that leads to anarchy. But by assessing your situation, implementing an approval matrix and work-tiering system, integrating risk and innovation into performance reviews, and formalizing a risk-taking recognition program, you can set your team up for success—and deliver a better future.
Why do we care? Our mission is to connect leaders to find solutions. If you're a senior design, experience, or creative operations leader of an in-house team at a high-profile brand and want to connect with others who share your unique challenges, let's talk. Our InsideOut community hosts small-format roundtables to support the learning and growth of our members, and we’re honored to facilitate those discussions.
About the author
Susie Hall is Aquent's Community & Customer Engagement President. In 1999 she joined Aquent as an interactive Agent. Over the past 21 years, she's led regional teams, developed a robust interactive design practice and launched Aquent's Vitamin T brand in 2011 to address the rapidly evolving digital talent needs of agencies and mid-sized companies. With 15 Best of Staffing service awards and hundreds of thousands of connections made, she brings a deep understanding of creative, design, and leadership. In 2019, Susie launched Aquent's InsideOut Design Leadership Community, connecting senior in-house design, experience, and operations leaders from high-profile brands through facilitated peer discussions based on real-world challenges.
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