How to make the most of an epic F**k up at work

Johnny’s first week on the job with us as a front-end developer was unlike anything I’d ever seen — and not in a good way.

As a new employee, we didn’t expect him to be perfect right off the bat, but as far as coding went, he did things I didn’t even know were possible. But while I was surprised at how sideways his initial projects went, Johnny’s reaction — total devastation — told me that he was worth keeping around.

It’s become a trend for companies to say they embrace failure — Coca-Cola, Netflix and Amazon among them. But for all our lip service, we rarely create an atmosphere where people are truly comfortable taking risks or pushing boundaries to become better at their jobs. Only one in four American workers report feeling that they actually have permission to fail at work and less than half of employers provide training to new staffers to help them overcome mistakes and get up to speed.

For our part, we have a kind of unconventional reminder in the company kitchen that failure is OK. It’s a poster with a quote from the animated series Adventure Time: “Dude, sucking at something is the first step towards being sort of good at something.” The underlying message: We’re all on a learning curve, especially in a field as fast-moving as ecommerce. But I need to be clear: failing, all by itself, isn’t a good thing. Without the support to help people move through mistakes and learn from them, failing is, well, a waste of everyone’s time.

On the other hand, actively helping employees work through failures can turn setbacks into stepping stones on the path of personal and professional growth. Plus, you end up nurturing the kind of loyal, engaged talent you couldn’t dream of finding in a pile of resumes.

Here are some ways we’ve helped our employees move through failure — and come out stronger on the other side.

Capture their disappointment — then redirect it

When somebody fails — spectacularly and publicly — on the job, there are emotional as well as practical consequences, or at least there should be. Dejection after a failed effort is a sign that an individual cares deeply about their work and is invested in your company. Chastising or, worse, ignoring them at that critical juncture is the wrong thing to do. Instead, it’s important to return their emotional investment by helping them quickly move from problem-mode to solution-mode.   

Johnny was crestfallen at his lacklustre performance, but he was willing to put in the work to do better. Instead of showing him the door, I sifted through his work to find where things had gone wrong. We also curated books and online resources he used to improve his coding skills. Importantly, he took the initiative to do his homework. Today, he’s a lead developer and one of the most talented people the company has.

It might sound like a waste of resources; after all, when you hire someone with a technical background a certain level of ability is expected. But the reality is technical skills can be taught. Soft skills — motivation, the ability to learn, adaptability — really can’t be. And in some ways, these deep, foundational abilities are far more valuable than technical chops.

Since Johnny’s early days, we’ve upped our training game by developing online modules to help address challenges common to entry-level positions. We’re even in the process of creating an in-house curriculum to help employees through steep learning curves. And it’s already reaped dividends. Being there to support employees when they fumble has helped us achieve a 90% retention rate — something unheard of in our industry.

When your people are failing, make sure they don’t fail silently

You can’t help your team through failure if you don’t know it’s happening. Creating this awareness comes down to fostering a culture where constructive feedback is given frequently, and it’s OK for employees to ask for help — and even express the horror and frustration of having things go off the rails. At root, this is about showing them that speaking out or making honest mistakes won’t earn censure or blame.

Confidence like that grows out of strong relationships with managers. Regular check-ins, whether daily, weekly or monthly, build that open dialogue — and act as insurance against surprises.

But this only works if everyone in your organization buys into the process. People who can’t let go of their ego and admit they need help are working against you, not with you. I’ve only had to fire a few people in my career (thankfully) and each time it was someone who chose to cover up or blame others for their mistakes, rather than taking responsibility to come up with solutions. It doesn’t matter how technically talented your team is if you can’t trust someone to be honest and open about their mistakes.

Realize it’s not them, it’s you  

Nobody fails in a vacuum: When someone hits a roadblock, it can reveal systemic issues or weaknesses in your company, your management or your on-boarding process. The opportunity, and the responsibility, to fix the situation requires a team effort.

Truly embracing this philosophy as a leader creates a climate of consistent achievement, rather than one-off-miracles. Appreciated and internalized, lessons learned from each individual failure ultimately strengthen your whole organization by streamlining processes, fine-tuning troubleshooting and reinforcing the checks and balances.

One critical clarification here: As important as failure is, it’s critical that none of these internal growing pains affect your clients or customers. Mistakes may lead to growth opportunities and new skills, but there’s never an excuse to send out bad work. As important as failure is, it’s imperative that the situations aren’t repeated — and that these important struggles take place behind the scenes.

The bottom line? Truly great employees aren’t discovered, they’re created. In the end, embracing a culture of trial and error is what turns mistakes into opportunities — and new staff into superstars.

This post was originally featured in Forbes. Stay up to date with my latest by following me here and on Twitter.