Is Radically Rethinking Failure at Work the Key to Success?
A fresh approach for companies to up-level their teams’ performance
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You may have heard the famous quote “Fail forward” by John C Maxwell. This is meant to reassure us that everyone fails, and associates failure with learning. But while this theory is widely acknowledged and applauded, the reality of our daily work practices looks very different. Companies aim high and push towards perfection. Work culture demands excellence, from having a perfect resume to top performance results every quarter. There is no room nor appreciation for failure. In fact, there is often scorn and outright intolerance for failure. Make a mistake as an employee, and you could lose your job. Fail as an executive, and you could lose the company.
What if I told you there is not only room for failure in your business, but that embracing failure will actually benefit your bottom line?
Companies can integrate failure into their performance strategies, and stop viewing failure as a setback, but as a tool to achieve even better results.
At a Company Level
Programs to Encourage a Healthier Corporate Culture
A perfectionist work culture doesn’t make people try harder; it only encourages them to hide their struggles even more. It also results in increased stress at work, a negative association with the job, resentment against management for giving them too difficult tasks or a lack of support, and can lead to dread of going to work and health problems due to the pressure of working in a high-performance environment. In Japan, in some extreme cases, people have even committed suicide due to such demanding work cultures.
“If we want people to fully…
