Failure: The Secret to Leadership Success
Jon Antonucci
Servant-Minded Leader | Growth Lover | Founder @ SML Consultive | Keynote Speaker | Author
If you are one who reads I'm Here to Serve right as it's released, it's the end of June 2024. That's right, the year is already half over. If you aren't quite as proactive, we're even further into the year.
So, with half the year behind us, I have a strange question for you. What has been your greatest failure?
Nope, NOT your biggest success. I'm not asking about the biggest account you won, the most challenging project you completed, or the most impactful program you brought to the team. I want to know what your (personal) biggest failure has been, so far this year.
If this is a difficult question to answer, I'd like to ask why? Why do we struggle to share our biggest failures?
Is it because we don't believe we have failed in any big way, so far, this year? (This is HIGHLY unlikely.)
Is it because we know we have failed, but struggle with the idea of sharing it with others?
Is it because we are afraid that admitting failure will result in less respect, loss of position, or worse?
Maybe you don't fit any of these, and you are ready to share your biggest failure! Whether you find it difficult or not, I would like to invite you to take a moment to share 2024's biggest failure for you, in the comments. This is not about airing out your "dirty laundry" but rather about owning the situation. (ONLY one's OWN failures should be shared.) I will be the example. After this article is published, I will add the first comment with my biggest failure of the year.
Whether we realize it or not, as leaders, our response to failure sets the tone for the attitude of the whole team. If we are open about our failures, others will be more inclined to share their own. If we are inclined to pretend that the error never happened, our team will likely also try to hide their own miscues. In both cases, our teams learn from the way we manage failure. But only in one of the cases, do we learn FROM failure.
Personally, I only believe failure exists in one scenario. It's not when something goes wrong or when there is loss. I believe failure only truly occurs when there is no subsequent growth. If the incident makes us better, it is not a failure. In this line of thought, we might consider Edison who indicated that, despite the numerous "failed" attempts at creating the incandescent lightbulb, he had not failed but rather simply knew of the many ways that would not work.
But imagine if Edison had decided not to tell anyone about the many non-working attempts. Perhaps from fear of embarrassment or withdrawal of funding, what if Edison had pretended he had only found success? In this vein, I think of the more recent EV startup Nikola, which insisted upon success that they had not yet achieved. In this way, they did not learn from the failures and ultimately...well check out their stock price and you will see how that story is going.
Every time I work with an organization that lacks a culture of learning-from-failure, it's because there is a leader (usually at or close to the top) who fails to set a good example.
This usually manifests in (at least) one of three ways:
1. They NEVER admit they made a mistake.
2. They ALWAYS have an excuse for their failures.
3. They are OFTEN harder on others for their mistakes than they are on themselves.
In these situations (each of which merits its own article) the leader set a poor example, and the entire company culture is the worst for it.
We may think we are serving our team well by not admitting failure. After all, they need someone they can look up to, and trust, right? Maybe we think that admitting failure is going to discourage the team, and we want to keep them optimistic and upbeat. Or possibly we simply want them to feel secure in their positions and admitting failure (with its possible consequences) seems like a cruel thing to do.
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In any or all of these situation, I would suggest that we are actually serving our ego more than the team. By not being forthright about the the challenges that we face, we BOTH rob our team of the learning experience AND provide them with a false sense of security that cannot be maintained. This will eventually be revealed and be far more cataclysmic than it would have been if the failures had been shared and used as growth tools in the beginning.
While the first step of maximizing the positive impact of failure is for the leader to acknowledge their own challenges and let the team learn from them, the next step is to serve others in their own challenges. By providing a setting in which failures are an opportunity for growth, the leader invites others to join them in their quest for learning, which includes being comfortable sharing in the struggle. This allow the leader to offer a safe and supportive environment in which to address team challenges and create an atmosphere of positive momentum.
Supporting people in the midst of chaos is one of the most powerful things a leader can do. When things don't go as planned, people will FEEL like a failure, no matter how much we don't see them that way. But, with the proper culture, the leader has the opportunity to realign their feelings with reality by providing a supportive atmosphere in which individuals can grow through setbacks and retain confidence that their growth is admired and respected!
After setting a personal example, one of the most impactful ways that a leader can facilitate growth-oriented failure perspective is by actually celebrating failures. That's right CELEBRATING! Of course, this does not mean that we make light of the problem. And we definitely should not celebrate at the expense of the person who feels the most responsibility for the failure. But, take time to CELEBRATE when things don't go as planned, as that is when the most learning can occur!
This can be difficult—especially in the heat of a disappointing moment. But, if we truly believe that every failure is more of an opportunity than a failure then it will be easier. Plus, taking time to celebrate the lesson can make a HUGE impact on the lives of those we lead and can help them to continue to progress in growth. Most importantly, it shows them that THEY (as people) are more important than IT (the project).
Of course, when things do not go as planned, there are ALWAYS consequences—often costly ones. This can make it tough to think of things as "growth opportunities" because we are faced with the immediate loss. However, the leader who is able to stand back and see the bigger picture is the one who will foster a culture of growth and who will facilitate innovation which is sparked by those who do not need to fear failure.
This is the final point I'd like to make. When we do not need to fear failure, we thrive and innovate. Leaders who are unable to see past the immediate failure never get the privilege of seeing their team reach heights previously thought unattainable. Whether we cite a cliche example like the post-it note which was invented by accident or we mention the repeated failures of the Wright brothers, who spent YEARS trying to get their contraption to stay in the air, all innovation came in the context of failure.
Sure, we can play it safe and work to ensure that we and our team NEVER fail (or at least admit to failing). But in so doing we also ensure that we never get to be a part of something great. Conversely, if we are open about our own failures and celebrate the value of learning from both our own and others' challenges, we foster a culture of growth and provide a launching pad for the most amazing development—first for ourselves, then for our people, and finally for the world.
The leader who sees failure as success in progress is the Servant-Minded Leader.
The leader who see failure as success in progress is the leader who is changing the world!
I'm Here to Serve is sponsored by SML Consultive a leadership-development firm dedicated to empowering what they call "forgotten" leaders. These front-line and middle-management leaders are often burdened with immense responsibility while receiving very little training or empowerment in their role. To learn more about how SML can help create a culture of growth and empowerment in your organization, visit www.servantmindedleadership.com.
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Pastor - Landmark Missionary Baptist Church - Casa Grande, AZ
5 个月I am not intentional enough to get second circle actions accomplished. The first circle are those actions that must get done. The second circle actions would aide me to do the first circle better or be more efficient. What helps me get actions done is not only to put them on a list, but also to designate them to a time. And not only to put them on a list with a designated time, but also to do them within that time frame. This designated to-do-list must also include second circle actions that are given near level importance to accomplish as the first circle.
"One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested." E.M. forster
5 个月My biggest failure was stepping into a leadership role and not taking proper steps to prevent burnout. I was obsessed with trying to prove to myself and others that I earned the position. This cost me challenges in my mental health and with other factors within the company eventually led to me resigning from that role.
||Sr. Manager || 15 yrs Learning & Development || POSH || Soft Skills || Product || Ed Tech ||BPO || TTT certified|| |MBA in Training & Development || AON Certified L&D Professional
5 个月Inspite of knowing that people I am surrounded like parents, my wife, daughter, I end up taking them for granted. On 31st Dec, like everyone and like every year, I promised myself that this is not going to be the case. I started and even won sometimes in expressing my love for them and really feel gratitude having them as a gift in my life, however slowly I feel slipping and I still end up becoming judgemental, opinionated and act like an average man. When will I hit the realization that this life itself is a miracle, everything that I see around was not at al made by me, the concept of birth, death, loved ones, relationship and material life, all has been given to me but still i take them for granted. So that's something I need to work upon. That's my failure.
Servant-Minded Leader | Growth Lover | Founder @ SML Consultive | Keynote Speaker | Author
5 个月As promised, my biggest failure of the year: I hired two people to serve in a role that we had not previously filled. It is my opinion that, when people join a team, there should be a clearly defined vision for both what they are being asked to do AND what it will take to get them to the place where they can do it. I did neither. I failed the staff miserably. Their success (which has been wonderful) is much more in spite of me than because of me. The only thing I did RIGHT was to effectively cast the vision for what we were trying to accomplish. And that allowed my team to come alongside the vision and help the new members of the team to succeed. This was not a complete failure because we learned from it, and we are now significantly more prepared for future growth. That is the redeeming quality of this situation! :) What about you?
Sharing the message of love-based, servant-minded leadership
5 个月This is fantastic!