“Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well” written by Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Business School professor who presents a valuable framework for understanding failure, teaching us how to benefit from the “good” failures while avoiding the more damaging ones. She explores the importance of creating an environment of psychological safety in the workplace, where people feel comfortable taking risks, experimenting and admitting their mistakes. This type of culture is essential for innovation and long-term success.
Three types of failure categories
Silly mistakes: are those that are due to carelessness, inattention or lack of knowledge. These mistakes are harmful and should be avoided. They are basic errors (simple and preventable in known situations).
Complex errors: errors with multiple causes that occur in known environments.
Smart mistakes: mistakes made by trying new things, taking calculated risks and learning from failures. These mistakes are crucial for innovation and growth. Good failures” are crucial to achieving our goals.
Rather than avoiding failure at all costs, Edmondson argues that we should embrace the latter type of failure in our careers and personal lives.
Key points
Psychological safety is essential for innovation and long-term success.
Not all failures are the same. There are preventable mistakes and the more exploratory failures essential to innovation.
Smart mistakes are valuable and should be encouraged. Smart failures require careful preparation.
Dumb mistakes are harmful and should be avoided.
Leaders can create an environment of psychological safety by setting clear expectations, protecting people from retaliation, encouraging openness and honesty, and celebrating success and failure.
Smart mistakes have the following key attributes
They occur in new territory: they are made when attempting something new and unexplored.
They are directed toward significant opportunities justified by existing knowledge: they are based on the best information available at the time.
Have a credible chance of success: they are not reckless or imprudent bets.
Are “as small as possible”: as a way to mitigate risk.
They can be learned from: they lead to new ideas and insights.
Leaders must create an environment where smart mistakes are encouraged and silly mistakes are discouraged, using “systems thinking” to make important decisions.
This can be accomplished by:
Setting clear expectations: leaders must communicate that failure is okay as long as you learn from it.
Protecting people from retaliation: employees should not fear being punished for making smart mistakes.
Encourage openness and honesty: employees should feel comfortable sharing their ideas and admitting mistakes.
Celebrate success and failure: leaders should acknowledge both successes and failures.
Key lessons
Not all mistakes are bad. In fact, smart mistakes are essential for learning, innovation and growth.
Psychological safety is essential to encourage the right kind of mistakes.
Leaders can create a culture of psychological safety by modeling the right behavior, rewarding smart risks and protecting people from retaliation for making mistakes.
Making smart mistakes does not mean no accountability. It is important to learn from mistakes and avoid making them twice.
A smart mistake culture can lead to greater innovation, productivity and success.
Failing wisely
Ultimately, for innovation and growth in today's complex and changing world, leaders must create a workplace where people are comfortable taking risks and learning from their mistakes, in a culture of psychological safety that leads to individual and organizational success, reaping the benefits of smart mistakes, and in an environment where their employees can thrive.
Comments