Destigmatizing the F-Word at Work (Failure, that is)
Today’s fast-changing and complex workplace that is full of unknowns means failure is not only more common, but also something we need to learn to use to navigate and advance amid the inevitable blind spots that come with a volatile marketplace. The teams who do it well have a clear advantage, so why is it so hard to wrap our heads around admitting we’ve failed?
In the first post of this two-part series, we will:
explore how failure got so scary in the first place
discuss why destigmatizing failure matters now
peel away the layers of failure because all failure is NOT created equal
Check out our follow-on post to this blog which features some of The Axela Group’s tips for how to Fail Well.
How did failure become so scary in the first place?
Let’s try a quick experiment:
What words come to mind when you hear “failure”?
If you’re like many of the successful people we coach, you’ve been taught from a young age that failure is blameworthy, maybe even shameful. Admitting failure brings on embarrassment, jaw clenching, sweating, and angst that you can feel in your gut. It’s built into much of our parenting, social norms, and educational systems. We are raised to avoid the F-word. Sure, we’re being a little provocative with our wording here, but in truth, we’ve had people who can’t even utter the words “I failed” out loud without grimacing, turning red from embarrassment or making excuses about how it wasn’t their fault.
Destigmatizing Failure - why bother?
Why destigmatize failure? To illustrate this, we’ll share another experiment – this one comes from David Bayles and Ted Ormond in their book Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking.
[A] ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality.
His procedure was simple: on the final day of class, he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pound of pots rated an “A”, forty pounds a “B”, and so on. Those being graded on “quality”, however, needed to produce only one pot — albeit a perfect one — to get an “A”.
Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the “quantity” group was busily churning out piles of work – and learning from their mistakes — the “quality” group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay.
Normalizing failure by incentivizing thoughtful experimentation, learning, and growth can have game changing results – in the pottery studio – and on your team.
Failure is a natural part of life and work, yet the stigma of failure remains a barrier to taking risks, trying new things, and innovating. This fear of failure ultimately hinders the growth and success of a human, a team, and even a company.
Destigmatizing failure can make for a winning team – even in the face of market fluctuations, supply chain breakdowns, and unstable political and social structures. Why?
It encourages risk-taking and innovation. When employees feel safe to take risks, they are more likely to try new things, come up with creative ideas, and drive innovation.
Second, destigmatizing failure can improve employee engagement and retention. When employees feel supported and valued, they are more likely to stick around.
Finally, destigmatizing failure can lead to better overall performance. When employees are encouraged to learn from their mistakes, they develop new skills and knowledge that benefits them, the team, and the organization.
The current pace of change means are constantly faced with new sources of failure, new types of problems, new levels of risk and also - new opportunities.
That’s why destigmatizing failure – especially in today’s work world - is a huge competitive advantage. In evolutionary terms, it’s been adaptation to overcome the things that weren’t working (failures) that has led to the survival of species. However, for failure to work to our advantage, we need to focus on the type of failure that serves us and avoid the type that can tank a company or cause harm.
Failure has Layers (like an onion or like Shrek, the lovable Ogre from DreamWorks Pictures)
Just like people, (and ogres), all failures are not created equal. There are layers of complexity and nuance. In her TED Talk, "How to Turn a Group of Strangers into a Team," Amy Edmonson discusses the three types of failure: preventable (blame-worthy), complex, and intelligent (praise-worthy). While not exactly an onion, Edmonson plots failures along her layered continuum – The Spectrum of Reasons for Failure.
Preventable failures are the result of mistakes or errors that could have been avoided.
Complex failures are the result of unforeseen circumstances or systemic issues.
Intelligent failures are the result of experimentation and innovation.
By understanding the spectrum of reasons for failure, companies can distinguish between different types of failures and develop strategies for learning and improvement. Like Brené Brown says, “You have to name it to tame it.” In this case, we think it’s important to name the type of failure so you can claim ownership of it and harvest the learning hidden within.
Stay tuned — in our next blog we will share practical tips you can use to get really great at failure — and grow from it!
Sources:
David Bayles and Ted Orland’s book, Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
Fast Company, “This is how not to fail at failing”
Harvard Business Review, "What We Can Learn from Learning from Failure"
McKinsey & Company, "Fostering Innovation Through a Fail-Fast Culture”