MASTER Risk Model - Learning Resources - Abilities

Vision & Goal Setting

Write one sentence describing your leadership vision—what do you want your team to achieve, and why does it matter?

Break one leadership goal into three smaller actions—focus on steady progress, not perfection.

Replace a vague leadership task with a specific outcome and deadline you can hold the team accountable to.

Set a weekly reminder: “Am I leading toward long-term goals or just clearing today’s tasks?”

Write one key team goal on a sticky note and place it where you’ll see it daily.

Share your top leadership goal with your team today—saying it aloud creates clarity and accountability.

Reflect on what drives your leadership vision—how does it connect to your team’s success and growth?

Journal about a leadership goal you achieved—what made it successful, and what role did your team play?

Explore how you currently set goals—do they stretch your team or simply maintain the status quo?

List three leadership goals from last year—what progressed and what fell behind? Why?

Write about how your leadership vision has shifted over the past three years—what influenced that change?

Think about a leader you respect—how do they communicate vision, and what could you adopt?

Set one leadership goal this week with a clear timeline and outcome—share it with your team to build commitment.

Align one daily action to your bigger leadership vision—state the connection before you start to build intention.

Block 30 minutes this week to revise your leadership roadmap—adjust to reflect new team insights or challenges.

Facilitate a short team session to clarify shared goals and how they align with company direction.

Create a mini-vision deck (3 slides) outlining your future direction—share it with a peer or mentor.

Take one step today that embodies your 1-year leadership vision, even if small or symbolic.

Ask a peer leader: “What do you think my goals are right now?”—check for clarity and alignment in how you show up.

Share your leadership vision in a 1:1 and ask how they see their role contributing to it.

Invite a mentor to review your leadership goals—do they see ambition, focus, and feasibility?

Ask your team to restate the shared vision in one sentence—does it align with what you intended?

Share your personal vision with a peer and ask for honest feedback—what’s clear, missing, or inspiring?

Ask a peer to review one of your leadership goals—what would make it clearer or more actionable?

Reframe “I don’t know my next step” as “I’m clarifying what matters most for my team right now.”

Change “This vision is too big” to “This vision needs steps”—break it down for your team to make it achievable.

Recast a past leadership miss as part of your growth path—what did it clarify about your vision?

Shift from “This is taking too long” to “I’m building something solid with the team—depth matters more than speed.”

Reframe ambition as service—how does my leadership vision help others succeed, grow, or solve problems?

Turn “I don’t have time” into “This isn’t a priority yet”—then decide if it really should be.

Observe if your weekly plan reflects team priorities or just urgent fires—adjust one item this week.

Watch how your team responds when you share goals—do they engage, look unsure, or disengage?

Track how often you revisit team goals—are they guiding action or sitting unused on slides?

Listen to how senior leaders describe vision—do they anchor the org or drift into tasks only?

Notice how you feel after team wins—energized, flat, or unsure? What does that signal about alignment?

Observe when you focus best—what kinds of goals or tasks tend to spark that flow for you?

Strategic Thinking

Choose a team process and ask: “What long-term impact will improving this have?” Write one sentence to define it.

Block 15 minutes to map a team decision’s ripple effects—who’s affected now, and what are the longer-term impacts?

Before your next team meeting, identify the bigger picture behind the agenda—what outcome truly matters?

Ask yourself: “What does success look like for my team in six months?” before starting a new project or plan.

Add a “so what?” column to your notes—challenge yourself to connect team facts to insight and action.

Read a recent industry article and highlight one trend—ask how it could affect your team in the next year.

Reflect on a past decision that failed—what assumption misled you, and how would you test it differently now?

Journal about your current role—how does leading a team shift your contribution to strategy?

Think of a time you connected different insights—how did that perspective shift benefit your team?

List external forces affecting your team—market, technology, or culture—how do they shape your choices?

Reflect on when you react quickly versus think long-term—what patterns could you adjust this quarter?

Identify your default focus—tasks, relationships, or results—how does it affect your ability to think long-term?

Lead a 10-minute strategy pause in your next team meeting—ask: “Where are we headed, and why?”

Take one team task and redesign it with future consequences in mind—what’s the smarter long-term way?

Draft a “What if…” list of three external events—think through how your team would respond.

Build a simple stakeholder map for your next team decision—who must be aligned for long-term success?

Facilitate a short pre-mortem: “If this fails, what might have gone wrong?”—capture insights for planning.

Revisit your team’s KPIs and suggest one shift to improve long-term alignment or impact.

Ask your manager: “What blind spots do you see in how I approach team strategy?”—note one to adjust.

Share a strategic idea with a peer leader—invite them to challenge your assumptions or thinking.

Ask a peer what long-term risks or opportunities they see in your team’s current direction.

Invite a cross-team colleague to review your plan—what dependencies or risks might you have missed?

After a meeting, ask: “Was I thinking too narrowly, or did I zoom out enough?”

Share your decision process with a colleague and ask: “Did I balance the short-term with the long-term?”

Reframe “What’s the fastest fix?” as “What’s the most sustainable solution for the team long-term?”

Turn “We’ve always done it this way” into “What’s changed that signals we should rethink our process?”

Shift from “What do we need today?” to “Where do we want the team in six months—and how do we get there?”

Recast reactivity as short-term blindness—what bigger issues might I miss by focusing only on urgency?

Reframe decisions as investments—“What return will this give the team in 3 months, 1 year, and beyond?”

Change “How do we hit the target?” to “What future are we trying to build as a team?”

Observe when strategic calls are made—are they balancing quick wins with long-term team direction?

Watch how senior thinkers frame questions—what inquiry patterns could you model with your team?

Track your own decision style—how often do you zoom out on strategy vs. dive into execution?

Notice where you get bogged in details—what higher-level view could sharpen team decisions?

Observe meetings stuck in execution—what long-term strategy topics are missing in discussion?

Note your own language—do you frame outcomes and risks, or just tasks and checklists?

Innovation Management

Identify one small workflow issue in your team and brainstorm three alternative ways to resolve it today.

Ask a peer leader how they solved a similar team issue—apply one of their approaches to your context.

Spend 10 minutes sketching a rough draft of a new team process—capture it quickly without editing.

Challenge yourself to ask in your next meeting: “What if we didn’t do this step?”—see what it unlocks.

Use a random word generator—relate the word to a current team challenge and spark new thinking.

Add a “New Ideas” section to your team board—populate it with five creative options to test.

Reflect on a time your team solved a problem creatively—what behaviors allowed that innovation to emerge?

Journal about a time you resisted a new idea from your team—what drove that resistance, and what was the cost?

Write down your last three innovative ideas—what patterns or habits helped you generate them?

Think about a leader who built innovation—what actions made others feel safe to share ideas?

Reflect on how you deal with uncertainty—do you view it as threat or a chance for growth?

Explore where your workplace supports or blocks innovation—what changes would help reduce barriers?

Test a new way of running a familiar process—change the sequence, roles, or tool and observe outcomes.

Propose a pilot change with clear test criteria and success metrics—keep it simple and trackable.

Ask your team to identify the most outdated workflow—volunteer to redesign or test a new approach.

Solve a team challenge using only constraints—less time, fewer tools, or tighter resources.

Share one bold idea with your manager, even if early—put it into the conversation for feedback.

Set up a 1-week “innovation sprint” with a peer—each of you solves a problem in a fresh way.

Ask your team which of their improvement ideas has potential—what stopped it from being tested before?

Share your latest process idea and ask a peer to stress-test it—embrace constructive friction.

Invite your team to rate which process needs the most change—start improvement from there.

Ask a customer-facing teammate: “What feature or process do clients keep wishing we’d deliver?”

Discuss with someone from another department how they test ideas—what can you learn and apply?

Ask your team: “What’s one idea we dropped too quickly?”—consider reviving or testing it.

Reframe “That’s risky” as “That’s untested”—try a safe, small pilot with the team before scaling.

Change “That’s not how it’s done” to “What if that’s exactly why we’re stuck as a team?”

Treat every failed idea as innovation data—ask: “What did this teach us about how the team works?”

Instead of “We need a breakthrough,” say “We need a small, testable step that solves something real.”

Reframe pushback as a filter—what part of the idea can improve from team critique?

Shift from “I’m not creative” to “I haven’t practiced experimenting enough with my team yet.”

Notice who speaks up with ideas in meetings—what dynamics help or silence contributions?

Track how long it takes for team ideas to move forward—where does the slowdown typically occur?

Watch reactions to new proposals—do you see energy, hesitation, or quick resistance?

Observe which times or settings spark the best ideas—create more of those for your team.

During project reviews, look for recurring misses—what do they reveal about untested assumptions?

Monitor how you respond to new input—do you build on it or default to critique first?

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