Can Failure Be A Leader’s Best Friend?

25 Jul Can Failure Be A Leader’s Best Friend?

I’ve come to believe that all my past failures and frustrations were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy. ~ Tony Robbins

Sure, failure can be a leader’s best friend. But befriending failure as a wise guru and allowing it to become a comfort zone of refuge are poles apart. Failure can teach leaders far more than success ever can aspire to. It all depends on how failure is defined.

Failure – a common perception

To some, failure occurs as a mistake, like missing an expected goal. To others, failure is a constant state of being – a mindset about themselves and their world.

An uncommon look at failure

A leader whom I highly respect was known to say that the rise in self-sabotaging behaviours suggests that many people focus on preparing for success when they should be preparing for failure.

Failure as a reality

Cutting to the chase, genuine leaders know that failure is a friend. It’s not a question of if you fail; it’s a question of when—and what meaning you attach to it. People who’ve become successful without failing are yet to be born. Similarly, endeavours without obstacles, botches and defeat are just as unimaginable. On the uphill journey to success, somewhere along, you’ll find yourself slip-sliding away—often to base, no matter how carefully you climb.

Embracing failure

Success and failure are an integral part of a leader’s life. Embracing success or failure is like cultivating any other relationship – it’s easy to handle and, more importantly, develops over time with single-minded focus. Leaders who are as transparent about failure as they are about success are on the way to producing excellent results.

Here’s how:

1. Getting comfortable with failure – Like most leaders, I grew up fearing failure. My first encounter with failure occurred in college upon reading a research report which revealed that only 30- 40% of students would graduate in my chosen stream. As a school topper, I was overcome with fear and didn’t want to be a failure. Throughout the next semester, I was ‘fearfully attentive’ and miserable. If I had befriended failure, I would have enjoyed the semester, gaining immensely from our gifted professors while learning much more.
2. Zeroing in on failure – Without belabouring the point, having a wholesome perspective on failure is like taking your attitude towards failure to the gym. The more you exercise it – the stronger it turns out. It prepares you for the endeavour-failure-learn-succeed cycle.
3. Prepping for failure – Let’s come down to learning from your failures. Intentionally allocating time to mine for gold from your experiences, reading how others overcame those obstacles, and discussing with a mentor or trusted business associate help tremendously. This is far better than brooding about that failure alone.

Surrounding yourself with the right people is the springboard to success.

“Over the years, I have made failure my friend and my teacher. Failure no longer frightens me like it used to, in the past. It’s not an obstacle to achieving what I have planned. I’ve even made it a subject of discussion in our breakthrough meetings rather than allowing it to grow into the elephant on the conference table.”

As a leader, embracing failure is crucial—making it your ally instead of your adversary. If you haven’t faced failure recently, prepare for its inevitable appearance. Your leadership is as essential to your organisation as your attitude towards failure. It can become either a mossy slope or a springboard to the future.