Early risks rarely get a thank you

Hi Nik,

A deal closes and it gets thanked. A risk gets flagged early and it often passes without a word. Here's what that quietly teaches a team, and the one sentence that changes it, in about 15 minutes.

This week in the field

In commercial teams, recognition tends to follow the result. The behaviours that protect the number, like flagging a risk early or cleaning a pipeline honestly, often go unmentioned, especially while the result is still in play. Ownership was the lowest or joint-lowest scoring pillar in 11 of 21 comparable diagnostics I've run.

What it means in practice

People learn what's safe to show from what gets thanked. If only results are recognised, raising a risk early starts to feel exposing, so it arrives later, or not at all.

One thing to try

I created the CODE Performance System™ to give you clarity, and the tools to make it happen. This one comes from Playbook 2.7, Recognition of Accountability Wins. Before your next forecast review or team meeting, spend ten minutes picking one person who showed an ownership behaviour, like flagging a risk early or resetting their plan after a miss. Then say it out loud: "I want to recognise [name] for [specific behaviour]. This mattered because [commercial impact]."

Takes about 15 minutes. You'll notice your team raising risks earlier, and with less defending.

The question to sit with

What does your team think is safe to show you when the number's off track?

Curious where you'd score on this? Take the free CODE Leadership Scorecard, five minutes, free.