On Being Wrong and Failing
As many of you are probably aware, there's been quite the discussion around a certain memo shared by an employee of Google. This has caused quite a stir in the tech community. Some of it has been constructive and some of it has been divisive and contentious. I think there are a number of lessons we can take from all that's occurred. Some of the lessons I'd like to discuss briefly are about being wrong and even failing.
Maybe you've heard the phrase, "Success consists of going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm." (Winston Churchill) Or maybe you've heard this one, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." (Thomas A. Edison) Or maybe this one, "failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something." (Morihei Ueshiba) These phrases, and many others like them, have come from people that we might call "successful." In fact, we might look at them and think they never failed. But these quotes paint a different story. It would appear that they failed. That they were wrong. That whey were wrong a lot. So, if they were so wrong, how did they become successful?
As mortal, human beings, we're naturally averse to situations that could be harmful to us. Whether that situation could cause emotional or physical harm, our minds respond the same way to it. That is usually to avoid it and get as far from it as we can. Because of this, we're often averse to putting ourselves in a situation where we could be considered "wrong." It doesn't really matter if we're actually right or wrong, but what matters is if we think we're right or wrong. If we think we're right, we often approach a situation with confidence and boldness. If we think we're wrong, we avoid the situation or approach it sheepishly. But does it have to be that way? Should we shrink from failure?
I think in most cases we shouldn't shrink from failure or from being wrong. There are many times (but not all) that we avoid making a decision or taking action because we're worried we might be wrong or we might fail in the end. Nine times out of ten, this is stunting our growth, throttling our impact on the company, and hampering the company's success. Obviously there are times to wait, to not make a decision, to take no action, to delay until a later time (the most responsible moment, if you will), but there are many times when we could take some action. So, why don't we? What holds us back? What keeps you locked in your comfort zone and blocks the success you want?
While I'm no expert at any of this, I think one big part of this is mindset. To really address this, I highly recommend reading The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict. In that book, one thing it suggests it that our under-performance at the workplace is due to us thinking too much of ourselves and not viewing those around us as people. If we truly care about results and about impact, we'd have an Outward Mindset in which we'd be more willing to act--and potentially fail--than if we have an inward mindset where we're too concerned about our image to go out on a limb. But, really, read that book and it'll help you personally. It changed my life.
But what about your company culture? Doesn't that have an impact on this? You bet it does. Is your company one to punish failure or to celebrate it? Does your company culture lean more towards shaming the idiots that screw things up for everyone else or one to acknowledge a failure and rally around those involved to make things right? Does your company culture allow people to innovate and fail fast or does it not welcome new ideas and stile innovation? What behaviors does your company reward? Are those the ones you want to be rewarding?
I'm fortunate enough to work for a fantastic company with a very unique culture. The head of our department is a great leader who strives to make our culture one where we're safe to fail or be wrong. It's a culture where you're free to share your ideas, even if they're "wrong" or unpopular, and you're free to fail. When these things happen, there's no shaming or fault finding. Just gentle correction or support to help things go right.
This may sound like we waste a lot of time or don't do as well as we could and you'd be right to a certain degree. We do struggle at times with productivity or with things moving slowly, but success doesn't happen over night. Teams don't become championship winning teams over night. Success comes with a lot of effort, small reminders, struggles and daily progress over the course of weeks, months, or even years. We have some teams that perform very well. If they fail, they fail fast, learn from it, and move on in a better direction. We have other teams that are still getting to that level, but they're getting there. Every team, no matter where they are on that spectrum, is allowed to fail and I think this helps them learn faster.
This translates to the individual level as well. As an individual, I'm allowed to have a differing viewpoint from my coworkers even if that viewpoint is "wrong" and even if my viewpoint differs from the head of our department. I can challenge him or my manager or any other coworker on any viewpoint we have without fear of discipline or losing my job. If I'm wrong, they'll help me see why. If they're wrong, then I'll try to help them see that and they'll try to understand why. Our personal opinions at work are respected and invited. We're all professionals and treated as such.
So, why am I talking about this? I think providing an environment where it's safe for people and teams to be wrong or to fail is critical. People shouldn't be punished for having a different viewpoint or a "wrong" idea. I think inviting differing ideas, encouraging the sharing of those ideas, and creating a safe place to fail fosters innovation, boosts employee moral, increases creativity, and increases cohesion on the team even if the team is very diverse. I'd even say that this type of culture is more welcoming to diversity of all types in the workplace because everyone is treated equally--as a human being with great ideas and great potential--and every team is regarded as a group of highly capable individuals that can do great things together.
Maybe you've heard the phrase, "Success consists of going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm." (Winston Churchill) Or maybe you've heard this one, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." (Thomas A. Edison) Or maybe this one, "failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something." (Morihei Ueshiba) These phrases, and many others like them, have come from people that we might call "successful." In fact, we might look at them and think they never failed. But these quotes paint a different story. It would appear that they failed. That they were wrong. That whey were wrong a lot. So, if they were so wrong, how did they become successful?
As mortal, human beings, we're naturally averse to situations that could be harmful to us. Whether that situation could cause emotional or physical harm, our minds respond the same way to it. That is usually to avoid it and get as far from it as we can. Because of this, we're often averse to putting ourselves in a situation where we could be considered "wrong." It doesn't really matter if we're actually right or wrong, but what matters is if we think we're right or wrong. If we think we're right, we often approach a situation with confidence and boldness. If we think we're wrong, we avoid the situation or approach it sheepishly. But does it have to be that way? Should we shrink from failure?
I think in most cases we shouldn't shrink from failure or from being wrong. There are many times (but not all) that we avoid making a decision or taking action because we're worried we might be wrong or we might fail in the end. Nine times out of ten, this is stunting our growth, throttling our impact on the company, and hampering the company's success. Obviously there are times to wait, to not make a decision, to take no action, to delay until a later time (the most responsible moment, if you will), but there are many times when we could take some action. So, why don't we? What holds us back? What keeps you locked in your comfort zone and blocks the success you want?
While I'm no expert at any of this, I think one big part of this is mindset. To really address this, I highly recommend reading The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict. In that book, one thing it suggests it that our under-performance at the workplace is due to us thinking too much of ourselves and not viewing those around us as people. If we truly care about results and about impact, we'd have an Outward Mindset in which we'd be more willing to act--and potentially fail--than if we have an inward mindset where we're too concerned about our image to go out on a limb. But, really, read that book and it'll help you personally. It changed my life.
But what about your company culture? Doesn't that have an impact on this? You bet it does. Is your company one to punish failure or to celebrate it? Does your company culture lean more towards shaming the idiots that screw things up for everyone else or one to acknowledge a failure and rally around those involved to make things right? Does your company culture allow people to innovate and fail fast or does it not welcome new ideas and stile innovation? What behaviors does your company reward? Are those the ones you want to be rewarding?
I'm fortunate enough to work for a fantastic company with a very unique culture. The head of our department is a great leader who strives to make our culture one where we're safe to fail or be wrong. It's a culture where you're free to share your ideas, even if they're "wrong" or unpopular, and you're free to fail. When these things happen, there's no shaming or fault finding. Just gentle correction or support to help things go right.
This may sound like we waste a lot of time or don't do as well as we could and you'd be right to a certain degree. We do struggle at times with productivity or with things moving slowly, but success doesn't happen over night. Teams don't become championship winning teams over night. Success comes with a lot of effort, small reminders, struggles and daily progress over the course of weeks, months, or even years. We have some teams that perform very well. If they fail, they fail fast, learn from it, and move on in a better direction. We have other teams that are still getting to that level, but they're getting there. Every team, no matter where they are on that spectrum, is allowed to fail and I think this helps them learn faster.
This translates to the individual level as well. As an individual, I'm allowed to have a differing viewpoint from my coworkers even if that viewpoint is "wrong" and even if my viewpoint differs from the head of our department. I can challenge him or my manager or any other coworker on any viewpoint we have without fear of discipline or losing my job. If I'm wrong, they'll help me see why. If they're wrong, then I'll try to help them see that and they'll try to understand why. Our personal opinions at work are respected and invited. We're all professionals and treated as such.
So, why am I talking about this? I think providing an environment where it's safe for people and teams to be wrong or to fail is critical. People shouldn't be punished for having a different viewpoint or a "wrong" idea. I think inviting differing ideas, encouraging the sharing of those ideas, and creating a safe place to fail fosters innovation, boosts employee moral, increases creativity, and increases cohesion on the team even if the team is very diverse. I'd even say that this type of culture is more welcoming to diversity of all types in the workplace because everyone is treated equally--as a human being with great ideas and great potential--and every team is regarded as a group of highly capable individuals that can do great things together.
Comments
Post a Comment