How can you encourage failure in your organization?

The word failure has negative connotation for most people, so it definitely helps reframing it but I would say why use the word failure at all? Focus more on learning. The question should be how do you build an organization that encourages learning, learning doesn't happen unless you allow people to make mistakes. Build a mentality in the company that failure isn't final, its temporary, like Simon Sinek says, its an infinite game. Furthermore, put metrics in place that allow such learning to take place.

The key mechanism to encourage failure is the creation of an organizational culture where employee's have a sense of "Psychological Safety" If employees feel safe to take risks, then we are bound to see more improvements, innovations and viewpoints. Fail First and succeed later.

Failure is bad by definition. It is not to be celebrated, let alone pursued. IMO there has been a misunderstanding of this issue, as it now seems that failure is a desirable must-have. Something to be proud of. Much like a war injury that gives you a scar to show off and a medal. But wouldn't you rather win the war without suffering so much? Do you think it is shameful to win without failing? I don't. Now, how you deal with failure when you have to... that's another thing.

One only fails at something if one has dared to try something. It’s the trying that’s the important part. Every famous invention we take for granted now is the result of countless failures until success finally appeared. The very device upon which you are reading this is a prime example. The safest way to avoid failure is to avoid trying … and that is the philosophy of a loser. Try out every idea, when it initially fails (it probably will) adapt it until success emerges (it will). Human beings are the very essence of adaptation in practice.

I am genuine when l thank a prospect for declining a proposal or meeting with me. Why? If my closing winning-ratio is 80% of business, then this prospect is in the 20% quartile! It means l can spend more time and energy on the higher revenue-rating businesses. The last thing you need to feel in Sales is negative. In fact, if you leave a lasting impression, then you win.??????

As Carl Jung once said, “Beware of borrowed wisdom”. All knowledge that we can acquire is borrowed in nature but wisdom is what stems from within when one goes through certain experiences. In my organisation Apex Hatchers, to minimise the fear of failure and maximise on our team taking steps that enable more experiences that lead to innovation; we follow a very simple philosophy which is - To accept success only after one day has passed and accept total failure only after four days. This has helped us to keep the momentum going and think of any failure as a mere transition phase to a better success!

I firmly believe that failure is failure, and it cannot and should not be encouraged in most circumstances, except when it serves a specific purpose, such as in experimental settings or during discussions and brainstorming sessions. Instead, leaders should exercise a level of tolerance toward failures, and the extent of this tolerance should be contingent on various factors, including the level of risk, the weight of the failure's consequences, and the reach of its impact.

For my experience, one of the best rewards is that the management of the company allows, encourages and incentivizes taking controlled risks that eventually will lead to failures. When mentoring or working with someone, a reaction or inmmediate feedback that includes a positive mention of the attempt, even with a respectful joke, with empathy, can lead to people not fearing being retaliated from failures. But the tone has to come or at least start from the top.

Why reward failure? Are we that fragile? Can we not handle the fact that we make mistakes? Can't we deal with our errors? It is quite simple: you succeed, you are rewarded. You fail, well, sometimes you should be punished or at least let go with a warning... but not rewarded. Of course, you should be allowed to fail -to a point- and supported and picked up and encouraged to CORRECT and improve and make things right. But in no way should you be encouraged to fail. It is understandable that you may fail in the pursuit of success. But, for me, it is hard to grasp how you fail just for failing. And either way, if you do fail, you shouldn't expect a celebration.

Failure, who is generally viewed as a harsh teacher, teaches us crucial things. If you ignore its guidance the first time, it will return, presenting you with the same problems over and over until you understand its fundamental wisdom. This is similar to the concept of not ignoring or forgetting failure. It is critical to participate in a methodical process of analysis and reflection in order to properly create insights from failure. This requires investigating the underlying reasons, effects, and overall lessons that each failure delivers.

Keeping a diary of written notes of what failed and how can you improve is something I have seen works in practice. Also, for example when doing a presentation for a large audience, have someone take notes of the things you are specifically looking to improve. Revisiting those notes a couple of days later usually is helpful.

I like the Term - Fail fast - Let me give it some context- Failing fast means it's okay to try something new, even if it might not work at first. When we say "fail fast," we mean that it's alright to make mistakes as long as we learn from them quickly. It's a way of saying that taking risks and learning from our errors is a good thing. So, in my opinion, failing fast is a smart approach because it helps us learn and improve faster. It's perfectly okay to fail as long as we use those failures to become better.

After you've learned from your mistakes, the next natural step is to adapt depending on your newfound knowledge. This requires a significant shift in your assumptions, strategies, actions, and behaviors. Rather than making the same mistakes or avoiding comparable situations, apply your acquired knowledge to chart a more effective course and explore new options and opportunities. To successfully embrace this adaptation process, it is critical to develop a resilient and growing culture, mentality, and environment. Consider the following strategies, which are based on the principles mentioned in the source piece:

An important part of company and personal growth is antifragility, which is a step ahead of resilience in an ever-changing environment. And with that, leaders should nurture a culture open to experimentation, before they can grow. The more experiments done, the more failures there will be, however the few experiments that succeed will actually carry the company forward.

Failure is often overlooked and misunderstood, the greatest success stories are always combined with failure somewhere down the road. However, it is time to explain why discussing our failures is critical for our personal and societal growth. Failure is an excellent teacher, guiding us to excellence via trial and error. Sharing our shortcomings is an act of courage and vulnerability, not of weakness. It promotes trust and authenticity, allowing us to create stronger connections with people. Especially in a leadership role is important that you are able to own your mistakes. You as a leader and a role model can inspire your employees and staff.

Don't be too protective about your innovation on the large scale, albeit this is anti the title. But be open, trust people repeatedly, this is what has helped me. Stay kind and positive, be helpful to your co-workers and collaborators beyond your goals that involve innovation. Stay vulnerable for insights, ideas and growing – this is what makes a growth mindset. Stay open about your journey, paint a picture we'd love to see, and be unconventional. Build a café attached to a toilet inside a shipping container to end open defecation and urbanize street vending. Be free with your ideas by being open, happy, and resilient.

Play & Empathy It is in play that we are liberated from the fear of error and failure. While that is truly valid for children, it is no different for adult employees. A company can encourage play by creating an innovation sandbox fund that is a safe environment to play with ideas and take risks while receiving a small amount of seed funding, mentorship and entrepreneurship training. Besides playfulness, another element to add to the corporate culture is inclusion and empathy. The issue with failure is not failure, it is the feeling of shame that one feels when it happens. Shame triggers a fear of rejection, therefore its trigger, “failure”, is to be avoided. By eradicating the feeling of shame, we can be rewired to lean into failure.

Metrics are super important here. If your metrics are stringent, unchangeable and closely tied to reward within the company, people would be unwilling to take risk. You encourage risk taking, when you encourage creativity and creativity is hard to measure.

Fehler als Manager nicht zu verurteilen reicht nicht aus! Mitarbeiter spüren trotzdem, dass es nicht gut war den Fehler gemacht zu haben. Oder sie meinen manchmal auch, dass der Manager ihnen den Fehler negativ anh?ngt, auch wenn er sich nicht negativ ?u?ert. Als Manager muss man daher aktiv daran arbeiten, negative Gefühle beim Mitarbeiter auszur?umen z.B.: - im pers?nlichen Mitarbeitergespr?ch das Thema aktiv ansprechen und Befürchtungen ausr?umen - Gelerntes und Ver?nderungen aufgrund des Fehlers dem Mitarbeiter als positiv anrechnen - im Team die Learnings besprechen, wie oben beschrieben