By Craig Lourens – Business Coach, ActionCOACH
Do you want to upskill yourself and your staff when it comes to drain installation?
© Plumbing Africa
If you’ve been following along with this series, you know we’ve been diving deep into the 6 Keys to a Winning Team. So far, we’ve looked at:
- Strong Leadership
- A Common Goal
- Rules of the Game
- Action Plans
This week, it’s time to turn up the heat and explore Key 5: Support Risk Taking.
Why Risk Matters in Your Plumbing Business
Here’s a hard truth most business owners avoid: without risk, there’s no innovation. If your team is scared to try new things because they’re afraid they’ll get their heads chewed off when it doesn’t work, you’ve got a culture problem—not a capability problem.
In a plumbing business, that could mean your team avoids suggesting new ways to streamline jobs, introducing technology, upsell services, or win customers. And that hesitation costs you money.
What Supporting Risk Taking Really Means
It doesn’t mean letting your team blow up your margins with reckless ideas. It doesn’t mean breaking “the rules of the game”. It doesn’t mean allowing unsafe practices. It means giving them a safe space to try, fail fast, and learn faster.
Here’s how to put it into practice:
- Praise Initiative, Not Just Results
When a plumber suggests a new approach—like pre-packing standard service kits for quicker call-outs—even if it’s not perfect the first time, praise the effort. Your response will determine if they ever bring you a good idea again. - Create “Safe Zones” for Experimenting
Let your team test new methods on low-risk jobs first. Want to try digital job cards? Pilot it on one van, not your whole fleet. Test, tweak, and then roll out. - De-brief Mistakes Without Blame
When something doesn’t work, hold a “what did we learn” session instead of a “who’s to blame” one. Mistakes are tuition fees for innovation. Pay them once—then move forward smarter. - Lead by Example
Have you tried something new lately? Your team will only take calculated risks if they see you doing the same. Share your own learning moments, including what didn’t work.
Final Word
In plumbing, water under pressure is powerful—but so is a team empowered to think, try, and grow. Support risk taking, and you unlock a wave of improvements, ideas, and initiative.
Next week, we’ll wrap up the series with Step 6: 100% Involvement and Inclusion—the glue that holds it all together. Don’t miss it.
Want to contact coach Craig click here: https://forms.office.com/r/pUFRecWpdg
