Failing Upwards
“Failure isn’t a necessary evil. In fact, it isn’t evil at all. It is a necessary consequence of doing something new.” Ed Catmull (co-Founder and President of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios) ^
Failure is one thing all share in common as humans, and is essential for our growth and learnings. We can best call these lessons through failure, “Enlightenment at Gunpoint”*. If we are to become an empowered leader we need to gain some of the strengths learnt through experiencing failure.
These learned experiences from failing train us to succeed, to fail upwards.
Unfortunately, there is no coaching or training in failing, particularly in our success driven culture. Most will either deny failing or make a failure look like a success.
Some of the positive lessons derived from failure can give us as leaders greater strategic insight, operational clarity, and a revitalised confidence in our abilities. We also gain a broader awareness, knowledge base, and tolerance for failure.
As an empowered leader we are made ready for the trials and tribulations of business enterprise through failing. Failure can be our best friend helping us to create a success-oriented, positive, and innovative business. If we learn a greater tolerance for failure we can create a culture of prototyping, where half baked, scrawled down ideas lead to innovation, collaboration and shared breakthroughs.
We understand that failure breeds success by breaking a culture of perfection.
This is because leaders who are willing to fail have a learning mindset set on growth, unlike those leaders who have a fixed or knowing mindset who are stuck on a roundabout of perfection, of getting it right the first time. Growth and learning most often involves failure, which can be highly embarrassing. But, if you wish to become an empowering, great leader start by accepting your limitations, and the imperfection of others. Learn that failure and loss are part of the growth of your business.
One great benefit gained from failing is a reduction in the fear of failure, and a greater willingness to have a go. Children, for example, are not born with self doubt or a fear of failure. As a child if we wanted to do/learn something new and fail, we tried something else. We would continue to try again learning upon what worked each time. A child uses the theory of trial and success - what worked and try that again.
This is unlike the trail and failure culture in most work places where the fear of failure dominates. Here, trail and failure creates an environment of perfection where we must, “get it right or go home”. The fear of failure can destroy ambition, creativity and innovation.
Contrary to popular belief, you can’t fail enough! Failure isn’t about feeling discomfort for getting it wrong. It’s about allowing ourselves the freedom to explore ideas, be creative, and understanding it’s fine to fall short at first.
Here are four signs you’re not failing enough ^ :
- You’re only focusing on “incremental” or small wins
- You do everything you can to avoid failure
- You wait for everything to be perfect
- You’re very comfortable
If you as an empowered leader can overcome the embarrassment and fears of failure, you will have a higher performing business and teams.
We all need coaching through the lessons of failure. Empowered by these lessons we, like Edison who appeared to have made the incorrect decisions 999 times, can learn to fail forwards.
With a bit of coaching and encouragement we can’t help but fail upwards.
^ Chris Deaver, November 05/2014
www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20141105163516-10645306-the-no-1-strategic-mistake-successful-people-make
- Failing Forwards, Richard Rohr
Link to a great video: https-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=robCsyACx50&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
This might help if you like charts:
