~ epic Fail ~
“Fail” is one of those words that has a universal, visceral response. While the definition of failure is unclear (Ryan Smerek in his book “Organizational Learning and Performance: The Science and Practice of Building a Learning Culture” describes it as a “Failure Continuum”)…we learn to avoid failure at all costs.
When I think about my career choices, some of my best insights have actually come when things didn’t work out as planned. I failed. I’d work hard for a coveted internship or job position only to find it wasn’t what I expected. Or, that I wasn’t what they expected.
As a coach, I see huge benefit from addressing failure together in two ways:
Practicing how to talk about failure (Gain insight from others on how the situation might be approached differently next time. Acknowledge failure is an opportunity to learn.)
Re-framing failure from a lens of expectation and opportunity (How might you anticipate or frame an opportunity differently in the future to open yourself up to failure?)
