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The Failure Survey is a valuable tool to help diagnose and assess the perception of failure within your organization.
By:
Raquel Rojas
We all know that running a business can be full of ups and downs, and sometimes those downs can feel like they're hitting us harder than a ton of bricks. It’s okay to admit that failure is scary, and it’s okay to need some extra support when things aren’t going as planned. But the good news is that with the right tools and mindset, we can face failure head-on and come out stronger on the other side. This is where our Failure Survey comes in.
What is The Failure Survey?
The Failure Survey is a valuable tool for diagnosing and assessing how failure is perceived within your organization. As part of The Failure Program, it includes a set of carefully designed questions to help you identify areas for improvement and even overlooked opportunities for growth within your company.
The questionnaire is divided into five sections, all of which fall under what we call "Failure Culture." These topics also form the foundation of our range of workshops and e-learning courses ;)
Fear of failure
Communication and Difficult Conversations
Psychological safety
Failure Management
Innovation
The Failure Survey helps individuals understand their relationship with and perception of failure and fosters the kind of awareness that improves the day-to-day operations of any team.
"What's included in The Failure Survey?" you may . Well, you and your team will get:
A unique link to the survey with questions for your team
A report summarizing your team's answers
A customized action plan tailored to the specific needs of your organization and team(s), with tailored recommendations based on the survey results.
Now, without further ado, here are the main findings from our 2022 Failure Survey
Fear of failure
Organizations tend to prioritize safety and minimizing risk over maximizing profitability when it comes to projects or products.
The fear that a project will not be successful has led 32% to decide to stop it.
On the other hand, 28.4% of people prefer to stop suggesting ideas for fear of being rejected, compared to 40.3% who have almost never stopped suggesting them.
As for project deliverables, 33.5% have chosen to postpone them out of concern that they still need improvement, compared to 25.6% who never postpone a deliverable.
The majority—57%—never involve more people than necessary in decision-making, compared to 17% who usually do so because, if something goes wrong, they are not the only ones responsible.
Communication and difficult conversations
35.8% usually prefer to stay silent so as not to cause a conflict, compared to 39.8% who would almost never stay silent. Additionally, 46% say they would almost never avoid correcting someone so as not to hurt their feelings, compared to 28.4% who would avoid doing so.
Forty-seven percent would never keep quiet about a project's progress when they don't have good news, and 37.5% would almost never do so. This compares with 14% who usually do.
40.9% would almost never keep quiet about their opinions differing from those of the majority, compared to 26.7% who usually do.
48.3% acknowledge that there are problems within the organization due to misunderstandings or assumptions, compared to 43.2% who say that this almost never happens.
In general, people tend to think that there is usually time to discuss and compare ideas within their team (44.9%).
Psychological safety and vulnerability
In general, leaders acknowledge their mistakes, according to 48.3% of respondents, while 30.7% believe they rarely do so. Additionally, more than half (52.3%) believe it is common for leaders to differ from their employees’ point of view, 19.3% believe leaders always have a different opinion, and 27.8% believe leaders rarely think differently from their employees.
In general, people prefer to correct their own mistakes rather than ask for help (40.9% vs. 29%) and they also prefer to do their own research rather than ask questions if they don't understand something (49.4% vs. 29.5%).
As for organizations, it is not surprising to learn that most focus on results rather than processes (48% usually and 14% always), and therefore most prefer to make decisions based on safety and lower risk rather than higher returns (34% and 17%).
Innovation: The Other Side of Failure
Organizations tend to focus more on achieving results than on processes (48.9%).
36.4% believe that there is usually a negative impact on the people leading a project that fails, compared to 43.8% who believe that this almost never happens.
When they fail, 41.5% of people usually feel more insecure, compared with 36.9% who usually feel more empowered.
In addition, the majority believe that 42% of the time they share and report lessons learned, and 35% of the time they always do so; furthermore, there is a sense that projects improve when lessons learned are analyzed (56.8%).
How Was Failure Management in 2022?
The most striking finding is that 48.3% of problems tend to arise due to assumptions or misunderstandings, and this may be related to the fact that 49.4% prefer to figure things out on their own before asking questions, as well as the 40.9% who prefer to correct their own mistakes rather than ask for help.
There may a tendency toward individualism or a lack of support when problems arise. Even if mistakes are acknowledged or there are opportunities to share different opinions, when a problem arises, people tend not to ask for help. Most people feel insecure after failing, so that’s something to keep in mind as well.
In conclusion…
Navigating difficult conversations, fostering a sense of psychological safety, and creating safe spaces for open and honest communication about failure are the most critical steps across all industries.
It's not easy to face our fear of failure, especially in a culture that often values success above all else. But the truth is, failure is a natural part of life and a necessary component of growth and innovation.
The importance of failure management in fostering psychological safety by creating a safe space for difficult conversations and building resilience in business and beyond.
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