EMBRACE FAILURE

I love my job because I get to teach and learn.?I saw a quote by Ruby Payne, Ph.D. that said, “Teaching is what happens outside the head; learning is what happens inside the head.”

I especially like learning from other managers and leaders.?Here is a lesson a bright young manager taught me the other day.

He said, “A lot of people don’t accept failure.?I try to embrace failure.?When you accept failure, people generally want to know what you are going to do to correct the situation and make sure the brew does not tip out of the tub again.?

“When you embrace failure and take on the responsibility of patching things up, it puts you in the driver’s seat.?Now, you can research the situation, get all your facts and information together, and propose or decide what the next steps will be.?You are in charge.?You know more than other people about the situation because you have studied it.

“Embrace failure to get to success.”?

He went on to explain that once you are in control and you make suggestions on what needs to happen, the next time that situation comes up, you can say something like, ‘Yes, remember when that happened before or something similar and my team reviewed and studied the situation and we decided that next time there needed to be 4 weeks of lead time, not a few days?”

If people hear, then you make the change and prevent the grief.?If not, you push as hard as you dare without toppling yourself, and then you let go.