Reviewing Performance and Learning from Failure

England’s early exit from Rugby World Cup was hugely disappointing for England and Rugby fans alike, especially as their performance didn’t reach the height that was anticipated. 

To add to the bitter disappointment, it was the first time a host nation has left the tournament during the group stages and the first time England hasn’t made the knockout stages.

This years Rugby World Cup saw the England team make the history books -for all the wrong reasons. After crashing out of the tournament early, it is the first time that the England team hasn’t made the knock out stages. To add to their embarrassment, they are also the first host nation to leave the competition during the group stages.

On Saturday 3rd of October Rugby fans watched in horror as England’s World Cup dreams were dashed by a poor performance against Australia. After a lengthy build-up of hard work, hope and excitement, the England team’s efforts, motivation and confidence was left in tatters. The training, preparation and sacrifice they had put in in the lead up to the tournament amounted to nothing.

No matter what career or industry you’re in, there will be a time when failure triumphs over success.  There will be occasions when you experience these feelings of failure, blame and frustration. The way in which you deal with failure will determine your chances of being successful in the future.

So how exactly should you cope with it?

The important questions that need to be answered are; A) ‘what are you going to do about it?’ and B) ‘what needs to be changed?’ You should avoid a knee-jerk reaction by ensuring that you don’t let your emotions get in the way of properly analysing your situation. Most importantly you must take measured action- don’t just sit there licking your wounds.

Failure can in fact have a strengthening effect, if it is dealt with well. For example, each of the England rugby players, including Coach Stuart Lancaster, is undergoing a time of reflection. Through carefully reviewing their performance, they hope to learn from their mistakes and come back wiser and more resilient.

Henry Ford once said that “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing”. Failure must be recognised as an opportunity to learn and grow. If you experience a set back in your career or make a detrimental mistake, carefully reviewing your performance and implementing an improvement plan could actually put you in a better position in the future.

Failures are inevitable but how we deal failure can be critical. Will you let your failure it make you or break you?

We’ve compiled some effective ways to tackle failure and begin the journey of change which will allow you to develop both personally and professionally.

Don’t isolate yourself

When you’ve been knocked down hard, emotions often lead to people isolating themselves, preferring to be alone. However, it's crucial to have the right resources to help you bounce back up again. This includes having people to talk to. Whether it’s your colleagues, manager, friends or family, it’s important to open up and address the problem head on. Don’t hide yourself away.

Stop obsessing over it

Do yourself a favour and don’t dwell. Dwelling on your failure will only intensify your negative emotions and will prevent you from moving on. The outcome can’t be changed; therefore you need to allow it mould your future, not delay or damage it.

Take note and learn

Remove your feelings of regret, anger and blame and assess the failure itself. What caused you to fail? What could have produced a better outcome? Review the facts and think about what you’ve learned. Consider how you can implement a plan that will help you to avoid making the same mistakes again.

Revive your self confidence

Stop focussing on your short-comings and think about your qualities, capabilities and your past successes. Write them down and read them. This should help you to reconnect with your strengths and reinforce your potential. Think about how your new insights from failure can feed into your existing strengths. Then, add a new quality to your list; you’re ability to overcome the challenges of failure.

Move forward

Set yourself a new goal and a devise a plan that gets you motivated and excited again. See this as a clean slate, your fresh start, and a new challenge that you will conquer.

The key is to ensure you’re not making the same mistakes again, so revisit what you’ve learned and speak to someone you trust and  get them to ask you questions and discuss your plan to move forward.

With the England team reflecting on their recent failures on the rugby pitch, it will be interesting to see if they can bounce back from their embarrassing defeat. If they can pick themselves up, dust themselves off and refine their game they might just come back stronger than ever. 

To read the full article please go to  https://www.pareto.co.uk/blog/2015/10/reviewing-performance-and-learning-from-failure/