I Love Failure

“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.”

– Henry Ford

Hi, I’m Kelly and I love failure. That sounds like I’m confessing a secret, like I’m admitting to a guilty pleasure (Little Debbie Oatmeal Pies, anyone?). But that’s not it, at all. I’m not afraid to tell anyone. I’ll shout it from the rooftops, tell all who want to know, and some who don’t. Failure is one of my passions – my own failure and that of others. I’m not afraid of it. It’s not always comfortable, but I embrace it. It’s a critical part of growth – personal growth, team growth, company growth.

As leaders, it’s important to create an environment where our team members aren’t afraid to fail. Where it’s okay to admit our failures, identify the failures of others, and talk about these failures in a constructive way that leads to improvement.

I was listening to a podcast recently. In it, the guest, a retired Army officer named George Milton, offered a simple calculation regarding failure,

“Failure + Right Response = Success.”

The right response to failure isn’t hiding it, ignoring it, or over-punishing it – it’s bringing it out into the light, intentionally examining it, mining it for the lessons it can give us, then using those lessons to do better. That response has the potential to make us more successful individuals, and when individuals succeed, teams and organizations succeed.

To paraphrase my favorite basketball coach, Dawn Staley (Go Gamecocks!), when addressing a question about coaching her players,

“I tell them…you are going to fail. I love you enough to allow you to fail.”

Do you love your team members enough to allow them to fail? How do you help them recover and grow after a failure?