Question to my Leader. Am I allowed to FAIL?
Ashutosh Bhatawadekar
NEXT100 CIO 2023 Winner | Agile Learner | Conference Speaker | Keynote Speaker | Coach | Mentor | Transformation & Change Agent
As coaches and transformation agents, we always provide that safety net (Psychological safety) to our teams. We encourage them to take risks, experiment with ideas and in case of a failure we provide that cushion or net to protect them. However as coaches, when you take experiments/risks in your transformation work, do we get the same cushion/psychological safety from our leadership?
My experiences have been little on the negative side and as a coach I have been deprived of this safety net / cushion in my journey towards enterprise agility. While in few engagements my leadership has been supportive and protected me, there have been instances where I have been penalized severely for a failed experiment / Proof of Concept from a coaching perspective.
Part of this problem also lies in the fact that we as coaches are considered as a Super Human being with a wrong mindset in our leadership that as coaches,
- We should have answers to all the problems
- Why do you need to experiment since you are already an expert Coach / Transformation agent?
- Does a Coach Need someone to Coach him/her?
- How can you FAIL?
There calls for a major overhaul of our leadership mindset to bring about Agility. Below are the attributes I feel our leadership should imbibe. In the absence of these I feel our role as coaches would be very limited and whatever transformation results we bring in would be short lived, low valued and easily slip back to old habit once we are out of the coaching engagement.
Below are some of the qualities I feel my Leader should imbibe
1. Safety Net / Cushion
I need a cushion to rest in case of my failure. Am I protected? Will my Leader give me that cushion?
2. Coach
I expect my Leader to be a Coach, Mentor, Philosopher & Guide. A Person who is more of a Mentor and will help me navigate through the VUCA environment
3. Humble
A person who is deeply rooted the on ground while we chase the sky. He/ She should be humble & down to earth, Open to admit mistakes and last but not the least possesses strong Human Sense
4. Courage
My Leader should be Courageous enough to challenge me to experiment and learn from the failures. A Person who also respects my courageous initiatives and empathizes initial failures are a part of the journey.
5. Openness/ Transparency
Is this relationship based on openness? Is my Leader telling me the full facts? Or is He / She hiding some critical pieces of the story? Transparency is key to a successful transformation
6. Motivator
My Leader should constantly motivate me, more so when I fail? Is he / she providing me an unbiased feedback or is it just a sugar coated pill? A Person who "Believe in my Strengths & Acknowledges My Limitations" is my Leader
7. Learner
My Leader should be constant learner. Is he /she investing time in Learning? Is He/She a Curious learner and a Lifelong Student?
Waiting for such a leader to arrive in my life. Is this a dream or a fantasy?
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Director(Strategic Capability Group) | Industry Advisory Consultant | Diversity & Inclusion Leader
4 年Intriguing article Ashutosh Bhatawadekar! More damaging than absence of safety net is the illusion of safety net
TEDx Speaker, Author and Change Catalyst
4 年Very pragmatic insight Ashutosh Bhatawadekar! And while the entire enterprise goes through learning, the leadership learning and reflections are most privotal to the success of Enterprise Agility.?
Its not a dream and can for sure be a reality! But unfortunately not all managers/leaders are mentors. The characteristics that you have detailed defines this relationship as a mentor-mentee relationship where there is mutual respect and learning. This kind of relationship becomes more and more hard to find at senior levels. But I would like to believe that you can find one if you really look for it - sometimes maybe outside of your organization.?
??VP @Sony Pics Agile Center of Excellence ??Author:"PLOT TWIST: Script Your Career, Direct Your Purpose..."2025 ??Chair, Women in Tech: Hollywood ?? Board Member: Warrior Films ?? Fellow @Institute of Coaching, Harvard
4 年Super insightful article, Ashutosh Bhatawadekar!? My belief is that ALL of us need psychological safety, INCLUDING our leaders that we report into.?? If there is alignment from the c-suite that cascades throughout the organization on this premise, it makes for a more robust container for innovation, experimentation, and employee engagement.? Our job, for those of us in the middle, not the top of the org, is to LEAD UP.?? Not "manage up" but LEAD UP.? Meaning, we get to inspire our leadership to shift their context of how they might view things.? We get to have them consider the benefits of adopting a more growth mindset, not fixed mindset view on experimentation, getting out of their comfort zones or their past experiences, and see that failing fast is the road to succeeding sooner.?? This will take COURAGE on the part of everyone to get alignment.? This way we can all link arms together and move together as a "1 body" - not a bunch of organs paradigm, and approach the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous future together and CREATE OUR VISION with complete buy-in and engagement from all...and cause unprecedented results to occur!??