How to Create a Culture That Embraces Failure and Turns Setbacks into Success

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How to Create a Culture That Embraces Failure and Turns Setbacks into Success

By Chris Kille | Entrepreneur Magazine | March 12, 2024

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Have you ever wondered why the most spectacular breakthroughs are sometimes a result of failures? Say hello to the “failosophy” universe, where we do not take failure as a brick wall but as a propeller to the sky.  In a society that puts success on a pedestal and sometimes refuses to take responsibility for failures, changing our point of view is of utmost importance. Failures are an integral part of developing a new product since they provide a lot of information, ideas and ways to improve. Creating a “failosophy culture,” we turn fear of failure into a push for progress, generating a common ground for adaptation and growth.  What could be the steps in this journey.

1. Redefine failure.  Any grim situation should not be portrayed as defeat but of a way to a new opportunity. Reinforce your team to view setbacks as steady steps toward success, with the result-oriented approach replaced by the process-oriented one. 
2. Encourage open dialogue.  Dialogue, as open as possible, is one of the most important tools in dealing with this situation. Sharing back-ups and vulnerabilities among team members when they feel safe builds trust and creates a collaborative environment. This open communication ensures that each team member is valued and heard, thus creating a fertile soil where other innovative ideas can be generated.
3. Enforce a “lessons learned” approach.  A “lessons learned” approach is a preventive tactic to outtake precious lessons from past mistakes. As opposed to blaming each other, the essence of this approach is to review the reasons for failures in an objective manner, which is the main principle of the culture of never-ending learning and adaptation.
4. Celebrate the attempts.  By celebrating the courage to try things out, even if it doesn’t succeed, you send a message that you are a dynamic culture whose main focus is on effort and learning. This recognition can take various forms, from public acknowledgment to tangible rewards.
5. Foster psychological safety.  Psychological safety is the basis of a culture that, instead of avoiding, embraces constructive failure. This is more about establishing a platform where the team members can be confident enough to spell out their thoughts and ideas and recognize their mistakes without fear of being laughed at or punished.
6. Provide constructive feedback.  It is crucial to direct feedback toward the process and strategy instead of the individual, allowing it to encompass the failure in an informative and motivating way. Positive feedback should work to make up, not tear down, the trust.
7. Encourage adaptive learning.  Adaptive learning is about changing tactics and methods by past achievements, even if these achievements stem from previous failures. Facilitating your team members to be flexible learners is a guarantee that every mistake will be a step ahead of the right strategy and solutions.
8. De-stigmatize failure.  It is necessary to change the attitude toward failure to create an environment where team members can feel free to innovate and experiment. Exposure to your personal failures teaches a great lesson: Failures are just natural components of the development process.
9. Invest in training.  By investing in training, you will empower your team with the required skills and attitude to analyze and learn from mistakes. 
10. Reflect and reset.  Running reflections from the outset presents the probability for both achievements and failures to be identified. By fixing a period in every team’s schedule devoted solely to reflection, you will prioritize learning from every outcome. 

3 key takeaways from the article

1. Have you ever wondered why the most spectacular breakthroughs are sometimes a result of failures? Say hello to the “failosophy” universe, where we do not take failure as a brick wall but as a propeller to the sky.  
2. In a society that puts success on a pedestal and sometimes refuses to take responsibility for failures, changing our point of view is of utmost importance. Failures are an integral part of developing a new product since they provide a lot of information, ideas and ways to improve. Creating a “failosophy culture,” we turn fear of failure into a push for progress, generating a common ground for adaptation and growth.  
3. What could be the steps in this journey.  Redefine failure, Encourage open dialogue, Enforce a “lessons learned” approach, Celebrate the attempts, Foster psychological safety, Provide constructive feedback, Encourage adaptive learning, De-stigmatize failure, Invest in training, and Reflect and reset.

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Topics:  Success, Failure, Entrepreneurship