The workforce is looking for true moral leaders
Old-school companies are dead… Nah, not really, but new generations are starting to bring value to them by championing new ways to lead a team. The workforce is looking for true moral leaders defined by their actions and consistency, not by their job titles.
In our opinion, leaders have two main characteristics: they truly listen, and they lead by example. A powerful starting point is for leaders to set the example so that early adopters can help foster a community with new beliefs and habits.
Failure is, and always will be, unavoidable, universal, and unexpected. Leaders must know how to deal with it, and most importantly, how to encourage and inspire others despite it. So, what are the most common leadership mistakes made when trying to overcome failure within an organization?
1. Not leading by example
Facilitating sessions or meetings to make them more personal, fun, relaxed, and straightforward allows us to create a special atmosphere that keeps egos in check. This approach addresses the most pressing need of many companies: changing their internal cultures.
But, as we know all too well, we can’t simply change the organizational culture by sending out a memo. A work environment is shaped by why, what, and how people do things on a day-to-day basis.
The only way to lead is by example and by acting as a facilitator. Setting an example means being vulnerable and showing team members that you, too, can get your hands dirty, make mistakes, and not sweep failures under the rug—but instead learn from them.
2. Avoiding vulnerability
Being a facilitator means shifting away from the old-school notion of an enlightened and invincible leader who always knows what to do, toward that of an inclusive, vulnerable leader who listens, truly empowers others, and fosters learning rather than assigning blame.
Vulnerability in a leader makes everything from conversations to projects more transparent, fun, and innovative—and it also helps a lot. Try being 1% more vulnerable each week and encourage others to do the same.
3. Having a negative mindset about failure
Failure proves to be a powerful tool for fostering deeper connections and generating insights because it challenges the paradigms of traditional hierarchy. Therefore, leaders should also view it as a valuable opportunity to move forward, impart valuable lessons, and spark insightful conversations within a team.
We created Fuckup Nights an ongoing event series because we know that you don’t change your behavior by attending a single event or listening to a single talk; we need to turn those new actions into habits. We also decided not to focus on famous or “successful” speakers because we strive for inclusivity and building communities.
4. Avoiding failure
If you view failure in a negative light and find it hard to control your reactions to challenges, it makes sense that you’d want to avoid failure, since it brings hardship and pain. Just be aware of the valuable lessons you’ll be missing out on!
At Fuckup Inc, our approach is to set aside social expectations and focus on how we respond to difficult situations. It is this practice that ultimately builds resilience and brings us closer to happiness and freedom.
Creating safe spaces to share stories of failure has had a profound impact on our global movement: people gain perspective, learn, build resilience, and form deeper connections.
5. Disregarding creativity
Failure is a key ingredient of creativity and innovation. To be creative, we must be willing to take risks. The first thing we must accept, in order to discover inspiring ideas, is that many of those ideas will not work or will be discarded. But those ideas will be just as important as the innovative ones because they will create an environment where team members feel comfortable speaking up freely.
One best practice is to take the time to discuss every “bad” idea, no matter how crazy or ridiculous it may , since this discussion will serve as a way to practice and build confidence for when we get to the not-so-bad ideas—or even the great ones.
Let’s make sure that everyone on the team has a seat at the table and, most importantly, the confidence to share their ideas, as collective intelligence will naturally emerge.
6. Avoiding difficult conversations
This can take many forms, such as avoiding tough questions, failing to consider all angles, and not trying to find flaws in an idea or product. The best ally of boundless optimism is enthusiastic skepticism; that way, creativity and iteration can go hand in hand.
Whenever someone identifies a problem that seems insurmountable, they immediately set to work as a team to solve it. Skepticism isn’t the enemy of innovation; it unlocks the potential of any idea. Identifying a project’s flaws doesn’t always mean scrapping it; it usually means adapting the idea so that it takes a more productive form.
To make a long story short…
Anyone who aspires to become a leader should set aside all preconceived notions, always ask why behind every idea, and strive to be a servant leader.
Through The Failure Program, we have facilitated hundreds of private events for companies around the world, creating value for our partners while supporting their cultural transformation. But that’s not all— we also offer a range of workshops and e-learning courses, along with our proprietary Failure Survey, so you can make data-driven decisions and put your learnings into practice from day one.
We believe that cultural and behavioral changes must come both from the bottom up and through structural design. This applies to everything from political institutions to companies to social groups.
Bring the Failure Program to your organization to improve employee engagement and retention, boost productivity, and spark innovation. Just fill out this form now!
References
Rob O’Donnell LinkedIn
The New York
Forbes
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