What do you do if your innovative leadership strategies backfire?

One important lesson I've learned over the years is that everyone makes mistakes, even leaders. When your innovative leadership strategies don't work out as planned, it's essential to analyze the outcomes, gather feedback, and learn from the experience. Then, you should involve your team in creating a revised strategy, being open about the setbacks you experienced. This will help establish authenticity and humility, which can inspire your team to contribute more enthusiastically to the revised strategy.

If your leadership approaches don't yield the expected results, start by acknowledging the shortfall openly. Recognizing it as a part of the innovation journey fosters a culture that values risk-taking and learning from errors. Transparently discussing the setback and its causes with your team preserves trust and respect, paving the way for collaborative troubleshooting and progress.

It’s ok to try new stuff. Remember that leadership is about a vision, and on this you should not be wrong… But the methods, communication techniques, and behaviours you deploy to support the manifestation of your vision are subject to change. You need to adapt to the people and the situations anyway, so treat a setback in leadership as any other problem, i.e. as an opportunity for learning and growth…

Developing a “test and learn” process and culture can be a huge asset for an organization, and acknowledging failure is a core part of that. The key with a “test and learn” process is to test new strategies in a small and quick fashion before rolling them out widely. For example, you test a new product design with a small representative sample of customers to get their reaction before changing the whole product. The beauty of a test and learn process that the “learn” part is often a celebration of failure. Tests rarely get things 100 percent right in the first go, so the learnings are about what could have been better. The biggest value of tests comes in showing where the fixable failures are.

When innovative leadership strategies backfire, promptly assess what went wrong and why. Engage the team in discussions for insights and corrective actions for future. Learn from the experience, adapt strategies accordingly, and communicate adjustments to rebuild confidence

Once a strategy has faltered, deeply analyzing the root causes is critical. This involves scrutinizing the execution of the strategy and the responses it triggered. Consider whether the failure stemmed from a flaw in the plan, external influences, or poor timing. Such a detailed examination uncovers insights critical for future decision-making, ensuring past mistakes aren't repeated. Involving your team in this analysis promotes diverse viewpoints and nurtures a collective sense of accountability. This step is not just about understanding what went wrong, but about learning and growing from the experience.

Sometimes it is important to understand the intellectual level of your team and the industry as a whole. Innovation is the way to go, but deliver in baby steps to anchor it in people's minds to easily accept and embrace it hence giving good results. There is no point in implementing an innovation that people do not understand, which could lead to resistance and rejection = failure.

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, reflect on what you learned and keep on going with your head head high. It is a part of the process you will experience often, nothing to fear unless you hide away and don't put yourself in the line of learning and growing.

Work on understanding what went wrong and how to apply those lessons constructively. Conduct a thorough, objective review of the strategy, soliciting honest feedback from those involved. Identify the assumptions, risks, and blind spots that led to the unfavorable outcome. Use this analysis to revise your approach, addressing the gaps that caused the initial backfire. Be willing to evolve your innovation process, trying alternative methods or abandoning the idea entirely if warranted. The ability to learn, adapt, and apply those insights is what transforms failures into valuable learning experiences that strengthen your leadership capacity over time.

If you have quickly realized that the strategy fails, and if you determine the cause in a simple way, then concentrate your effort on putting the solution in place. It may be an adjustment or it may be something more radical, but the important thing is to see that once the "medicine" is given, the change, the desired effect occurs immediately.

This is when situational leadership comes in handy. Situational leadership involves assessing the situation and adjusting your leadership behaviors accordingly. Regularly evaluate the capabilities, motivations, and readiness of your team members. Based on your assessment, adjust your leadership approach accordingly. This might involve being more directive when team members need guidance or more supportive when they require encouragement. Recognize your team's efforts and achievements, and provide guidance on areas where improvement is needed. Empower them to make decisions within their areas of expertise to foster autonomy and growth.

In times when innovative leadership approaches don't work as hoped, it's essential to gather constructive feedback and communicate openly about it. This exchange not only aids in realignment but also strengthens trust within the team. A key aspect is bolstering team dynamics and clarifying that failures are valuable learning opportunities. Cultivating a culture that honors both successes and steps of development is fundamental for sustainable progress. Moreover, when introducing new leadership strategies, one should never forget the company's origin and socialization. There's no blueprint for implementation, necessitating a gradual rollout.

If my innovative leadership strategies don't work out, I take a moment to reflect and learn from the experience. I cherish failure by finding insight in the outcomes and doing retrospectives to identify areas of improvement. I work on remaining resilient and believing in myself, even in the face of setbacks. I develop a game plan to move forward, prioritize self-care, and look for new ways to stay innovative and grounded. Ultimately, by embracing these concepts, I can regain my innovative edge and work towards building a stronger team.

One of the most powerful things I saw in my career was a leader of mine who always said "touch it you own it." This meant that anyone involved had a role and ownership to solve the problem. By creating this mindset, he focused everyone on staying in the game and being part of the solution. The failure didn't mean too much when everyone was immediately focused on solutioning.

Cherish failure. It is your compass towards becoming a better leader. I used to lead an NGO in Norway. Found that my treasurer were doing some... creative things. Which, I guess, came with her being a part of the dark triad - think psychopathology. I told her: I must check all details of our books. We were funded by the government... And she forced me out of my chairperson role. Lesson learnt: document first. Don't attempt to confront one who is lacking in empathy and compassion. And don't get angry. Be still as water.

Don't forget to reward the failure. I know this may seem counterintuitive. Reward the behavior of taking the courageous risk. Innovation is found when we think and act differently.