It is not a secret that people tend to be afraid of failure. In some professional settings, the word failure sometimes is viewed as forbidden topic to discuss. The reality is, mistakes and failures can be the catalyst for learning and growth. When you failed at something, you are driven to try something new and take the risk until you reach your own success. So is it really forbidden to talk about failure in professional setting? Can you talk about it in your company?
Talking about failure
When you are too afraid of making mistake or failing, you will be less productive and creative. Instead of avoiding the word failure, it is more encouraging if you can talk about it with your employees openly. There are positive impacts you and your employees can take such as the passion to keep growing through constant learning, broaden horizon of creativity, and many more. But how can you encourage the talk about failure in your company with your employees for it to have positive impact?
Start with celebrate the failure
Failure is not always a form of sadness or grieve. If you view failure as something to be sad about, it is harder for you to develop passion to take risks. Hence, encourage celebrate failure with your team members. Do not make it a taboo topic to discuss. It deserves celebration and cheers. You can even laugh it off as long as you take notes what mistakes you made and find out what to improve for the next steps.
Focus on things that matter
As mentioned, failure is not always bringing sadness. It can be something valuable you can learn to improve yourself. When discussing failures with your team, do not focus on blaming each other. Instead, focus on the lessons everyone can learn together. Treat failures as trial and error that is normalized within your company. Discuss failure with no judgment. Instead, use empathy and positive energy to encourage everyone to recover from it.
Lead your team with vulnerability and openness
Be open when talking about failure. Do not be afraid to talk about your own failures during your leadership. You might be a leader but you are still human who make mistakes sometimes. And there is no shame in showing this side of you to your team. Lead your team with vulnerability because it is not weakness. It can make your team feel safe talking about their failures so they become better at sharing and being open to others.
Aim for learning and growing
The objective of talking about failure is not to put certain person on the spot or point out your finger to the ones you consider responsible for making the mistake. Instead, make this opportunity to encourage everyone to learn from the failures. Focus more on the lessons instead of the person. Also, talking about failure is all about growing not judging or criticizing. It is an opportunity to find the lessons to grow and recover.
