Welcome to "Diary of a Leader" - Real Stories, Leadership Lessons, and Personal Growth
Ah, leadership! The thrilling, heart-racing journey of ups, downs, and all the delightful chaos in between.
Welcome to "Diary of a Leader," where I peel back the curtain on the good, the bad, and the downright awkward moments of being a leader.
And today, I’m serving up the first of a two-part lesson on failure—specifically, how we can help our teams become comfortable with it. Failure is often seen as something to avoid at all costs, especially in the workplace, but here’s the thing: without failure, growth is limited, creativity is stifled, and the freedom to explore new ideas is lost.
The Reality Check: No One Can Be Perfect All the Time
I’m reminded of a personal experience I had with one of my senior industrial designers. He was exceptionally skilled and had over 20 years of experience. I’d even go as far as to say that he was practically flawless in his work—always prepared, always meticulous. Sure, occasionally he’d miss a minor detail, but he’d jump in and correct it instantly. After a while, I began to notice something: he never really failed.
This might sound ideal, right? But as a leader, I started to feel a bit uneasy. It reminded me of the old concept of “fail fast.” In other words, small, manageable mistakes often provide crucial learning moments. And when those moments are missing, there’s a chance that, eventually, a significant error might appear out of nowhere.
The Moment of Failure: A 6-Inch Miscalculation
And then, it finally happened. He’d been working on an incredibly complex design—an installation that involved mounting an intricate, heavy piece of art on both sides of a glass wall. With glass as the substrate, even the slightest misalignment would be visible.
While he was on vacation, the team received updated site dimensions and adjusted the model without his oversight. The problem? He hadn’t briefed his colleagues on modifying the measurements in two critical spots. When he returned and started preparing the pieces for shipping, he realized there was a six-inch misalignment. The two parts of the art piece wouldn’t line up correctly during the install.
He walked into my office, looking as pale as a ghost, and laid out the situation. It was a significant mistake, and at that moment, he had no solution in mind. But as he explained the details, I couldn’t help but smile.
He looked at me, baffled, and asked, “Why would such a huge oversight make you smile?”
“Because,” I replied, “I’ve been waiting eight months for you to mess up, and I’m glad it finally happened.”
I explained that the longer we go without a mistake, the bigger the eventual failure tends to be. By learning to handle mistakes in real-time, he would develop resilience and flexibility, and this would strengthen his ability to solve complex problems. That’s the essence of “fail fast.” Small, timely failures are what enable us to course-correct before things get out of hand.
The Turnaround: Embracing the Mistake and Finding the Solution
Within 24 hours, he returned with a solution that avoided any structural changes to the design. His fix involved only a few minor adjustments to the art piece, and the project was back on track. The experience taught him something invaluable—he learned that mistakes aren’t the end of the world and, more importantly, that he could trust his skills to solve even big problems.
A few months later, during his quarterly review, I asked him my usual starter question: “How did you feel about this quarter?”
He said something I’ll never forget:
“I’ve never felt more comfortable with failure, and more confident in my ability to solve problems.”
In that moment, I saw a new level of growth in him. Failure had become a stepping stone, not a stumbling block, and his confidence as an industrial designer had reached new heights.
The Leadership Lesson: Why Embracing Failure Matters
As leaders, it’s our job to create an environment where failure isn’t feared. When people feel safe making mistakes, they become more innovative, resilient, and ultimately, more engaged in their work. Here are a few ways to encourage a “fail forward” mindset on your team:
Encourage Small Risks - Allow room for small, calculated risks. Emphasize that it’s okay to take these risks in pursuit of growth and learning.
Celebrate Problem-Solving, Not Just Success - Recognize team members not just for avoiding mistakes, but for their ability to solve problems when things don’t go as planned. This shifts the focus from perfection to resilience.
Use Failure as a Learning Tool - Sometimes the best value you can give is the kind with no strings attached. Whether it’s sharing insights, offering guidance, or simply listening, let these actions come from a genuine desire to support others.
Show You Believe in Their Abilities - When mistakes happen, make it clear that you trust their skills and judgment to find a solution. Your confidence in them will build their own, helping them tackle challenges head-on and grow as leaders in their own right.
Wrapping Up (Because Time is Precious)
Here’s the takeaway: Failure is an essential part of growth. When we create a work environment that values learning from mistakes, we empower our teams to innovate and stretch their capabilities without fear.
Catch you next time, fellow leaders-in-training—and remember, real growth often starts with failure.
Stay tuned for more reflections and lessons from the trenches of leadership in the next installment of
"Diary of a Leader"
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