The Importance of Failure at Work
Many people shy away from failure, or even talking about it. In fact, more adults fear failure than spiders, ghosts, or being home alone. But fearing failure — especially failure at work — means avoiding risk, and risk often leads to the greatest rewards.
If you fear failure at work as a leader, you are likely cutting yourself off from a plethora of possibilities for incredible success. Perhaps you aren’t giving an employee a chance to prove themselves in a new area, or you aren’t pursuing a client that seems out of reach. You might find yourself focused on the potential repercussions of failure. Instead of dwelling on the negative “what ifs,” you should reframe your mindset and ask yourself a different question: What if I succeed?
What if you secure a new contract that everyone at your company thought was out of reach? What if you give an employee a chance who knocks the project out of the park? By taking the risk and being okay with failure at work, your success reaches new heights.
However, you only have these opportunities to reach new heights if you don’t let yourself become paralyzed by fear of failure at work. If you focus on what you are good at — areas where you know you will find success — you will be considered reliable, but you will also plateau and lose valuable opportunities for growth.
Failure, and the willingness to deal with it, are key to finding a path to success, even when you are leading a team. It’s important to teach your team not to fear failure, as well, or else they may get stuck in a pattern of moderate success without ever reaching the great heights they are capable of.
Interested in learning how to embrace the risk of failure and reaching new levels of success? Get in touch for a complimentary coaching session!