Are you ready to fail?

"Make Mistakes" "Fail Forward!" "Failure is not fatal" are common sayings, but do our organizational cultures really embrace failure? Like, really? With targets, KPIs and dashboards looming over our heads,? employees are legit scared out here in these corporate streets lol. In my past lives, I've witnessed employees blatanly skew reports and omit information to show success. To be honest, our sociological systems are tied to the 'success' factor. We say it's ok to make mistakes, but the moment it occurs, everyone panics and instantaneously goes into crisis mode. With that type of reaction- "the sky is falling," who will really want to admit a failure, mistake or blooper?? It’s avoided like a plague!?

While orgs, especially in the Caribbean, may take some time to truly embrace the "fail philosophy"; I believe that we (the Human Resources) can make personal strides towards?it!

Here's my take on it:

As a recovering perfectionist, I had to do so much inner work to embrace failure. I hated to share bad news. I took every task 1000% personally. I thought failure meant that I was a loser. I attached myself to EVERY single outcome! Not healthy right? In my personal development journey, I had to unlearn this "fear of failure." Here are some strategies that I learnt and still practise to quell my fear and embrace the “fail forward” mentality:?

1. Peel the onion. You must understand the root-cause. Understand Why. How? Through observation and instrospection. I kid you not- Journaling helps. I had to ask (and continue to!) Why am I afraid to fail? The insights could stretch far back to childhood hurts and traumas. This is a revelatory exercise that brings massive awareness. Sometimes this awareness may lead to seeking further professional help.?
2. Give myself permission to fail. I had to encourage myself- I literally had to breathe and affirm that it’s ok. Positive self-talk is critical.?
3. Plan for failure- “If this…then that.” Contingency planning 101. Now, there will always be uncertainty, but planning for failure in projects challenged me to think ahead and ask for resources.
4. Communicate…communicate…communicate! Communicate progress and risks- especially risks and issues as they arise! Then, the perfectionist in me, will try to figure things out before I say anything- and by the time I said something, it was too late. Being a problem solver is great, but it’s ok to state the issue while working on the solution. So now, the problem solver in me will state the issue and also advise that it’s being worked on and most importantly- if I need help! Communication is key- it builds a community; you’d be surprised that people will run in to help–but you must say something! The impact of failure is greater when we delay communication and resolution.
5. Should failure occur, ask myself- what’s the lesson? In Six Sigma, key stages of process improvement is that you have to analyze so you can improve and then control (to mitigate risks). I applied this principle in everything I do. The mindset- it’s ok to make a mistake and to fail, but it’s not ok to consistenly repeat it. At the end of every day, I end in gratitude and lessons-learnt in my journal.?
6. Give myself grace. Do my best and know that I did. Giving myself grace reduced the overthinking and stress!
7. Remove myself from the outcome. A project may fail, but I am not a failure. This was a huge mindset shift. According to Zig Ziglar, “failure is an event, not a person!”

These strategies allowed me over time to build the tenacity and confidence to embrace failure. I trust that it will help you too! When each of us build this muscle, we can create a culture that’s open to not only failing, but to fail forward into innovation, productivity and ultimately success because failure is not the opposite of success, but part of it!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments- do any of these strategies resonate? Do you practise any of them? If you struggled with fear of failure- is there anything you'd like to add to this list?

Cheers,

Prudence