Have no fear of perfection - you’ll never reach it.
Instead, fail faster.
This seems counterintuitive, especially when I’m running my “Effective Leaders” programs in a boardroom full of executives.
But let me explain.
I’m not talking about mistakes when it comes to safety or protocol.
I’m talking about taking risks with your approach as a leader.
Jeff Bezos famously said, “Failure and invention are inseparable twins.”
By viewing failures as valuable lessons and opportunities for growth, you’ll create an environment where your teams are more willing to innovate and push boundaries (when it’s safe to do so).
You won’t ace every encounter or coaching moment. But hitting speed bumps is where things get interesting & important.
HOW you appear now is critical for three reasons:
Do you own your mistake, accepting the responsibility?
Are you calm, cool and collected?
Do you set an intent/plan to learn and avoid it in the future?
Believe me, your team watches everything here and will strive to mimic your approach.
They’ll feel safe and supported, which lets them focus on the opportunities as opposed to fearing failure.
That’s how artificial sweetener was invented.
And how an empowered employee at 3M invented the sticky note.
Allowable mistakes that became billion-dollar successes.
So my advice: Go be awesome - not perfect.
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