"What kind of bird-brain are you? Gee-Whiz, a three year old could have done a better job than that!" As contributors to the future success of your organization, those words might be the most counterproductive in the English language. How often have you seen or experienced a response like this to an error at work and the victim, already downcast by disappointment at failure feels even worse after a thorough tongue-lashing.
What do we teach by behaving like this or condoning it? We demonstrate our belief that success is everything, the only acceptable outcome of every initiative. Had Edison thought that way we would still be relying on candlelight for those long, dark winter evenings!
If you want your workplace to be ultra-successful, cutting edge technology, a unique product, the best processes and people alone will not, cannot take you there. Yes, the workplace ultra-successful in bean-counting terms shares all those qualities but the magical additional ingredient is becoming a place people would almost die to join, becomes more successful by encouraging discovery and innovation. As leaders, this is something we must nurture............and failure is a stepping-stone on the way to success.
The workplace ultra-successful in bean-counting terms will not, cannot achieve that status unless it becomes a workplace which people would almost die for the opportunity of joining. That's the difficult part. The easier components are those which typically come to mind immediately: securing great technology, a unique product well made or delivered, the best processes an accomplished sales force..........and one thing more:the encouragement of discovery and innovation. Part of that is putting in place the characteristics of the appropriate environment and there are two. The first is the easier: the physical environment and requirements. More difficult is creating a culture which encourages discovery and innovation and even more importantly, accepts mistakes, our people's and our own.
How many of us learned to ride a bike without ever putting a toe to the ground.........became fluent in a foreign language without embarrassing moments...........or learned to dive without experiencing the occasional bellyflop? Failure is not the problem. The problem is failing to learn.
The emergence of a pattern of errors signals the need to take some steps very quickly, there are important discoveries to be made, questions to be asked. One of the most important is whether this staffer is working in an area which they love, is he or she practising their values? Unless that is the case she will never excel. Sometimes we might discover that the best option both for our organization and the individual is to find another role, one they enjoy and in which they can succeed.
The ultra-successful workplaces practises enlightened management but that does not mean it guarantees employment for life. When it has failed in its goal to hire for values, when it recognizes that a staffer's talents are incompatible with those needed in the organization, rather than fire them dramtically and with hard words, with respect and compassion it guides them to another organization, more suitable.
The next time one of your people fails, ask the questions contributing to their future success. Harness the power of failure as a springboard to success!
The Top Ten Questions To Ask Following A Team Member's Failure...in an atmosphere of collegial exploration.
1) What was the desired outcome?
2) What were the unheeded early-warning signals?
3) What were the most important resources which were not consulted?
4) What intuitive signals did you overlook?
5) To what extent were you on your best game and what was standing in your way?
6) To what extent might the result have been influenced by better time management?
7) If starting again, what would you do differently?
8) In terms of benefiting the organization, what's the most important learning ?
9) What's the most important learning about your self?
10) What's the best way in which I can support you right now?
Martin Sawdon, May 2009.
Martin Sawdon champions creation of The Sustainable Workplace™, that's the workplace ultra successful in beancounting terms which can only be achieved by creating a place people would almost die to join. He does this through his speaking and coaching. You can visit Martin at http://www.coachingworks.ca and http://www.thinktanksummit.com and contact him via martin@coachingworks.ca
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