Positives in Failure
Alright— we failed. So, what happens next? That answer will determine whether your team falls back or uses this moment to build the momentum needed to succeed in the next one.
Too often, we reduce our failures to the result on the scorecard and let it reflect a lack of execution or effort. As leaders, we can’t afford to stop there. We need to look at the full picture. Was this a result of unclear direction? A lack of shared purpose? Minimal teamwork? Or would a few minor process adjustments have made all the difference? That’s where the real conversation starts.
Step one is shifting your perspective – learning that failure isn’t just part of the leadership journey, but that it can actually be a positive contributor to your team’s growth. Take a moment and sit with these two questions: Are you focused on what went wrong, leaning on that managerial instinct to quickly identify where the ball was dropped and by whom? Or are you looking at this failure as an opportunity to grow? Your answer here shapes everything that follows.
Here’s what I know: when leaders genuinely accept failure as part of the process, it does wonders for the success of the team. It removes that fear that hovers over creativity. As you ponder and reflect, let’s examine the benefits and impact that failure can have on your organization. Think about it – we recruit and build teams of people we believe would bring fresh ideas and innovation. So why are we also allowing fear of failure become the very thing that hinders their potential? Accepting failure as a natural part of growth empowers teams to maximize their creativity and bring their best thinking forward, without the weight of that roadblock holding them back.
When it’s time to debrief a failure, take an analytical and objective approach. Keep your focus on the process, not the outcome. Look for moments where your team elevated their collaboration, took initiative, or pushed a new idea forward. Identifying those positives and acknowledging them creates the momentum to keep going into the next challenge. Your team will feel their efforts are noticed and won’t hesitate to bring new ideas forward. They’ll continue putting to work the exact skills you saw in them when you built the team, and overtime, their confidence will grow stronger than their fear. As IBM’s Thomas Watson, SR. once said —“The fastest way to succeed, is to double your failure rate.”
The teams that learn to fail well are the ones that consistently win.
Leaders, are we allowing the fear of failure to get in the way of our team’s success?
Medina Leadership Consulting partners with organizations to develop confident, accountable leaders through our methodology: The Leadership Pact.
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