Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” – Denis Waitley
Not many things in life are certain, however the fact that each of us will experience failure is a certainty and part of being human.
The way we recognise and respond to failure is key. High performers are often identifiable through their ability to embrace, dissect and learn from failures, in a way that drives genuine change, new thinking and the application of experience based and design thinking.
Top Tips for Embracing a Growth Mindset / Failure as a key to Learning:
Actively seek out challenges that scare you/ where you have room for challenge and growth
Give yourself permission to take risks and then do your homework to approach new challenges with all the information you need, people you can bounce with and who can offer guidance as needed and set clear parameters for desired outcomes and how you will achieve these.
Following A Failure – Growth Mindset Application Tips:
- Acknowledge failings and own them!
- Take the necessary steps to deeply understand the failings and how they occurred / track back through steps and thinking
- Allow yourself to be vulnerable and acknowledge personal impact and then focus on the facts and details
- Make a list of key Issues and make time to think tank what you will take away as learnings and do differently next time
- Share and bring others into the discussion and create an open learning environment , for yourself and others, through case studies
- Get back on the horse / throw yourself into the next challenge, with newfound experience and apply the lessons learned
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/three-types-failure-you-focusing-wrong-one-danae-shell/
The more we fail, pick ourselves up and go forward, armed with new knowledge and experience, the more we become experts, extending our resilience and change agility in the process.
Failure can be a true teacher indeed, teaching us humility, building resilience, emotional intelligence and helping us to be vulnerable. All of these traits are critical as leaders and most great leaders will recall and share many times they have failed and how this has led to their future success. Take heart, take a breath and recognise the growth opportunity presented and how you harness this will directly impact your future success.
