Risk Taker: Leadership Tips You Can Learn From Poker

What do poker and leadership have in common? Well, you have to work with the cards you’re dealt.

A game like poker requires strategic thinking, not unlike what you experience in the boardroom. In both poker and business, you have to read the room in order to make the best decisions, because you may not have all the relevant information right now.

Here are a few things poker can teach us about managing risk and improving as a leader:

Plan out your strategy

Some versions of poker, like the popular Texas Hold‘em, require you to do some thinking ahead. You cannot sit back and play in the moment if your aim is to win; you have to go in there with a plan. This is the same rule for any business leader, regardless of their industry or sector. Extensive planning is required if you want to grow your business and position your team for success.

However, even if you plan accordingly, success is not always guaranteed. You need to think outside the box and constantly challenge your assumptions for a winning mindset. Good poker players constantly observe their opponents at the table in order to gain new information and reassess what they think they know. Whether it’s someone’s playing style, their body language, or their estimation of you, taking all these factors into account is necessary to win the game.

Learn to read people

Leading effectively requires you to have deep-rooted skills when it comes to personal interactions. When you’re at the poker table, you only know the cards in your hand so you try to figure out what everyone else is going to do and how they are going to react.

Learning how to read people enables you to spot their ‘tells’ and gauge how strong their ‘cards’ are, which will allow you to make smarter moves. And whether or not you’re aware of it, your brain is automatically wired to help you read others through your intuition. Nurture this skill by trying to recognize how you feel towards new people you encounter every day.

Master the art of the bluff

In poker, bluffing is an essential part of the game. You may not have a good hand, but you can still win if you are able to convince your opponents to fold because they think you actually have a better chance of winning. It’s the same in business — your image is everything.

If you seem really confident and competent, people are more likely to believe in you. On the other hand, someone who is sloppy would have a very difficult time convincing someone else to follow them. Giving a firm handshake, maintaining eye contact, and other nonverbal cues are important if you want to be perceived as a reliable leader.

Know when to accept defeat

Poker is a game designed to produce only one winner and the cards don’t always break your way. Much like in life, success doesn’t come easily and you will have to fold sometimes. However, learning to let go is a key component when it comes to winning at poker in the long run. If you insist on risking everything all the time for little reward then you will jeopardize your future at the table or in the world of business.

Both poker and leadership require calculated, honest assessments that take plenty of emotional discipline. Sometimes, leaders have to take losses with grace and give up their perceived upper hand if they want to create a genuine, positive impact. When events are out of your control, it’s enough to manage what you can and wait for other doors to open.

Originally posted 2022-06-16 20:30:24.