Screwing up when the stakes are high
Kristen Hadeed
Speaker, Author, Consultant | Keynotes, Workshops & Culture Change Work to Ignite Human Leadership in Your Organization ??
A few months ago, I gave a talk to leaders in the Emergency Medical Services industry.
The topic?
Permission To Screw Up.
In an industry where the stakes are incredibly high—these people are the first to respond in a crisis, and their actions could make the difference between life and death—screwing up was an interesting topic choice.
Typically, I work with people in industries where making a mistake is nowhere near as consequential. But for this group, it is. And that’s why I was actually really happy that they chose this topic for the keynote. Even though their jobs come with a level of responsibility that I cannot personally fathom, at the end of the day, they are human beings, and screwing up comes with the territory. I was hired to teach this group how to give themselves more grace, how not to be so hard on themselves when mistakes happen, and most of all, to empower them to give themselves permission to be human.
I was honored to be able to have this conversation with them. But knowing how to have the conversation? That was really hard.?
I wrote about the experience of preparing for and giving this keynote on social media, and it really resonated with people, so I wanted to go a little bit more in-depth here:
My speech was part of a larger event, so I decided to join early and listen in on the sessions that came before mine and meet members of the audience. I wanted to understand more about their roles, their perspectives, and the challenges they face.
As I sat there soaking it all in, I just kept thinking about how every time these people meet someone in their line of work, chances are it's the worst day that that person has experienced so far. Can you imagine that being your day-to-day experience? The pressure has got to be immense.
No matter how much I want to relate to that, I can’t. My job is not like that. I don’t know what it’s like to hold that much responsibility or pressure in my hands, and there was no way I could point to a single experience in my life that would even come close to their average day. So instead, I thought about what I could relate to, and that is my experience of sharing a life with my husband, Spiros, who is a surgeon.
Read the rest on my blog!
Thank you for sharing such a meaningful and thought-provoking experience. It's truly inspiring to hear how you approached this challenging subject with grace and empathy. In high-pressure fields like Emergency Medical Services and surgery, the concept of 'permission to screw up' is crucial in fostering a learning environment and promoting personal growth. Acknowledging humanity and imperfection is a powerful step toward building resilience and improving outcomes. Your words remind us all of the importance of learning from mistakes and supporting one another through difficult times.?