Got your attention, didn’t I? Now I don’t mean what you are thinking; I mean the ‘F’ word FAILURE.
Leadership in the workplace has to recognize, embrace and accept failure. Sure, we all want things to go smoothly, but truth is they often don’t and thus it’s no wonder that people see failure as bad, as a dirty word. What would it look like if, rather than labeling any task or action that didn’t turn out as originally planned as a “failure,” we saw each of them as learning opportunities…?What might we create? What opportunities might arise for us? What would change if we were able to step away from self-blame and move forward into celebration?
Leadership in the workplace starts with managers, leaders and business owners building a culture that allows for mistakes, and yes, even failures. These leaders understand that if there are no mistakes then people aren’t taking risks. And they recognize this creates an opportunity for learning, and that nothing new, creative, innovative or exciting happens without taking risks.
So go ahead, use the ‘F’ word. When you do, you’ll be in the select group of leaders who have created a culture that encourages creativity, innovation and celebration.
