Words of Wisdom to My Younger Self: our new mini series

Often, we have preconceptions about things we haven’t done before, especially in the workplace – certain tasks might look too difficult and we feel we couldn’t do them; other roles may look to be the dream job only to realise the reality is a very different story.

That’s why embracing experimentation can be really useful. The dictionary definition of experimentation is: “a scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact.”

The fact that you don’t know what the outcome will be is okay – and that will feel uncomfortable for many of us.

Embrace the unknown

Think back to a time when you did something for the very first time:

·?????? First day at school, college, university, new job

·?????? First time having that difficult conversation or giving feedback

·?????? First time swimming, roller skating, kayaking, football, hockey,

·?????? First time cooking a roast dinner, baking a cake…

How many of those ‘firsts’ went perfectly?

You arrived on time to the new job, you knew where everything was instinctively and understood all the jargon that was used.

You swam 5 meters the first time you jumped in the swimming pool.

?You didn’t burn the roast potatoes….

Learn from set backs

When things don’t go as we planned the first time it can feel disheartening and difficult to summon the motivation to try again.

However, we learn a huge amount when things don’t go as planned. We can learn about ourselves and what we want to do differently next time. We can also share insights with others to help them avoid some of the mistakes we made.

It also makes it easier to remember so that you don’t make the same mistake again. Many years ago, one of my weekly tasks was to test the fire alarm. Before each test I needed to call the alarm company to log the test. One day I forgot to call the company, so the fire brigade arrived…I never forgot to call them again!

The research by Amy Edmondson shows that creating a culture of psychological safety in your organisation or team helps people to feel more comfortable in trying different things out, which can lead to….

Innovative ideas

If you are new to an organisation, team or project, you are a fresh pair of eyes.? You can often see tasks being done in a way that you feel can be improved or done more efficiently.

A lot of the time, you will be correct, but not every time.? And that is okay.? You tried a new way, it didn’t work as you expected, so you try a different way next time.

Having the freedom within your workplace and your team to try new things and make mistakes, is the only way that improvements will be made.

By its very nature experimentation is unknown, so go on embrace the unknown and have a go!