Leaders become better leaders through adversity. In the entrepreneurial culture of Silicon Valley's technology world, there is a new right-of-passage for success: failure.
Recently I had the opportunity to hear Dick Costolo, CEO for Twitter, describe the value of unconventional paths and leadership.Growing up in a family firmly entrenched in the automotive industry; Costolo took the opportunity to attend the University of Michigan to take an assortment of seemingly random courses. Although Costolo's undergraduate degree was in computer science, he took up acting and stand-up comedy in his senior year. After graduation, he left not for Silicon Valley, but for Chicago and the renowned Second City improvisational comedy troupe. He formed lasting relationships with then-burgeoning performers like Steve Carell and Rachel Dratch, and learned valuable skills that helped prepare him for the tech industry, among them adaptability and the ability to listen. It also solidified his mindset to constantly move out of his comfort zone and try new things.
Implicit in this mindset to move out of the comfort zone is the concomitant mindset that failure is something not to fear, but more importantly something to learn from. This approach is captured in a recent book by UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business professors, John Danner and Mark Coopersmith, "The Other "F" Word." In their book they promote the idea that failure can be a game-changing strategic resource that can help and encourage greater success than anything one can originally crave. Nobody wants to fail, but failure is a fact of life. Most treat it as a regrettable, even shameful event that is best overlooked. Danner and Coopersmith articulate how to take best advantage of these memorable and meaningful events. They state, "Failure's like gravity - pervasive and powerful. Whether you're a leader or team member of a startup, a growing business, or an established enterprise, failure is today's lesson for tomorrow."
Danner and Coopersmith have developed a model for learning from failure: The Failure Value Cycle: Seven Stages Where You Can Leverage or Flunk Failure. It is the cycle of the seven "R's."
In the Failure Value Cycle, there are 3 R's that should occur before failure happens. These 3 stages are:
Stage 1: Respect
Acknowledge the gravity of failure. In this first stage it is important to be forthright about what failure can mean to the venture or effort. The role of the leader is to be a straight talker and be mindful about what can lie ahead.
Stage 2: Rehearse:
It's not just about fire drills but rather it is important to prepare when a failure may occur. In this stage it is important to anticipate and set up systems and establish benchmarks to monitor the business. In this stage, the role of the leader is to be a tenacious coach.
Stage 3: Recognize
Pick up the signals of failure earlier. In this stage, it is important to use the systems and benchmarks from Stage 2 to identify the signs of an imminent failure. The role of the leaders is to encourage watchful monitoring of the business.
During the failure it is important to focus on the following R:
Stage 4: React
As a leader and team captain it is imperative to quickly deal with what is happening. Having the benefit of recognizing early signs in Stage 3 allows the leader to make strategic decisions quickly to stem the impact of the failure.
Finally, after the failure occurs, there are 3 R's that turn the negative of failing into a future asset:
Stage 5: Reflect
Turn failure from a regret to a resource by digging deep into the reasons why the failure occurred. As a leader, it is important to become the inquisitive student.
Stage 6: Rebound
Taking the lessons learned from Stage 5, it is important to retake the initiative by pivoting and reinvigorating the effort. This effort requires the role of the leader as a "field general."
Stage 7: Remember
The ability to take the failure event and turn it into a future resource requires that it be imbedded in the culture of the organization, or the team. The event must be communicated and re-told as a lesson learned with an emphasis on the benefits of failure. As a leader it is important to be a proud storyteller, initiating an open and productive conversation about failure across the organization and instilling failure savvy as a cultural norm.
Failure is an inevitable result of taking risks and moving out of one's comfort zone. Incorporating the Failure Value Cycle as a strategic process within your business or your team efforts will ensure that failure becomes a valuable future resource and asset that harnesses failure as a catalyst to drive innovation, improve performance and strengthen culture.