If you’ve ever worked on a Cabinet paper, a briefing, or programme update, you’ll know the drill.
Before anything sees the light of day, you run it past the front-page test: “How would this look if it landed on the front page of the newspaper tomorrow morning?” It’s automatic – like muscle memory.
I was speaking recently with a group of public sector leaders about their career journeys. One of them shared that in their team, the risk register was so central that it practically had its own seat at the table.
Then they added: “We even have an opportunities tab!” They paused… and then said: “It’s empty.” We both laughed, nodding our heads. But then sat with the truth of that.
When you’ve spent years, maybe decades, in a system that is built on risk mitigation, what does that do to your mindset? What does that do to your appetite for change?
And here’s the question that’s been echoing for me ever since:
If everything you do at work starts with a risk register… does your career change process start with one too?
Let’s explore that.
The Invisible Imprint Of Risk Culture On Public Sector Leaders
Public sector leaders often carry what I call an unseen imprint: a deeply embedded way of scanning the world for what could go wrong. It’s part training, part culture, part survival.
One leader told me: “In the public sector you get one strike. One mistake. And the consequences echo far and wide.” Politicians want answers. Media want accountability. The public wants reassurance.
So people become careful. Measured. Risk-aware to the point of risk-averse.
You might have felt drawn into the public sector because you value stability, process, and doing things properly.
Or you might have arrived with a spark for innovation… and eventually hit what one leader called permission culture:
- waiting for sign-off
- checking for alignment
- making sure no one is blindsided
- making sure you won’t be the one “hung out to dry”
One leader I interviewed had come from the private sector with a mandate “to bring innovation.” He found a few allies who wanted freedom to try new things — but they needed reassurance that it was safe to fail.
The culture made risk feel personal. Which got me thinking…
If this mindset is so ingrained, how could it NOT spill into how you approach your own career?
Do You Have An Opportunities Register… Or Just A Risk Register?
Many leaders I talk to can fluently list all the risks of changing direction:
- financial uncertainty
- starting over
- losing seniority
And the fear of: regret, being misunderstood, getting it wrong, being the odd one out. Of failure.
But when I ask about opportunities?
Often I get a long pause. Or a nervous smile. Or… nothing. Just like that empty opportunities tab.
One client once told me that her biggest insight from our work together was this: “I realised I don’t always have to imagine the worst-case scenario. The opposite could be equally true.”
For her, that shift changed EVERYTHING. Not because she stopped managing risk. But because she stopped letting risk be the ONLY voice in the room.
The Way You See Shapes The Way You Act
In the public sector, you’re trained to weigh things up, literally. Think of the old-school balancing scales in a policy briefing: risks on one side, benefits on the other.
But somewhere along the way, many leaders forget that BOTH pans are meant to hold weight.
And so a career change becomes something you tiptoe around, instead of something you explore with curiosity.
Be aware, the way you FRAME your career transition will shape:
- what you pay attention to
- who you talk to
- which pathways you even allow yourself to imagine
- whether you feel energised or paralysed
The mindset you bring to this shapes the WHOLE journey.
3 Reflections To Rebalance The Scales
Here are three questions to become more conscious about your approach. And to bring your Opportunities Register back online.
1. Look Back
How has risk culture shaped you?
- At work?
- In decision points throughout your life?
- Have you consistently avoided risks, or have you balanced them with possibility?
2. Look at Now
How are you approaching your current career question?
- Is it all risk… and no opportunity?
- What might be possible that you haven’t considered because the risk voice is louder?
3. Look Ahead
How do you want to approach decisions in your next chapter?
- Do you want the risk lens to lead, by default?
- Or would you like a more intentional, balanced approach?
Awareness Is The First Step
Once you become conscious of the lens you’ve been using, you can choose a different one.
You don’t have to stop managing risks. You don’t have to abandon the skills that make you an exceptional public servant. But you CAN widen your field of vision.
You can create an Opportunities Register. One that isn’t empty this time.
And remember: the energy that drives your decisions ripples outward. Choose the one that helps you move, rather than freeze.
Until next time: make space, rediscover YOU, and then take action.