Many years ago when I served in industry, I was part of a large team charged with the task of designing and delivering an ERP system to replace a number of legacy systems. The project was enterprise-wide and, accordingly, incorporated talent from the business units and support staff.

There was one meeting in particular that has stuck with me over the years. Many of us were in a conference room discussing the design and the various attributes the system should have. It was a great discussion with many people contributing and the ideas flowing freely. It was a great example of how collaboration across business and functional units should occur. And then it happened.

One of the company's senior executives walked in.

The tone of the room changed instantly. It was as if the room temperature dropped 10 degrees (fans of horror films will understand the implication). The problem was that this particular executive had a reputation for undermining his people. He would say one thing to you privately and when the political tide changed he would reprimand you publicly for doing exactly what he told you to do. And the people learned very quickly that they should not take risks around him.

In the conference room, that's exactly what happened. Everyone became quiet and only spoke when the executive asked them a direct question. And even then it was just the facts and nothing but the facts. No more creativity and no more ideas.

As you read this you might scoff and shake your head at such non-productive behavior, but my question to you is this: If you're a leader in your Finance organization, what are you doing to encourage risk taking and idea generation? Do you create a safe environment for your people to take risks? Are you sure?

Effective leaders, whether they have the title of leader or not, are people who understand that they and their company can only succeed when the people around them are able to take calculated risks without the fear of failing. That doesn't mean that there are never consequences for failing to meet expectations, but it does mean that people are safe to create and explore new ideas. It the role of a leader to shape that culture.

What are you as a leader doing to create a culture where people are free to explore ideas? What are you doing to stifle it?