According to Peter Bregman on BusinessWeek.com, managers should see failure as an opportunity to improve themselves, because talent grows with persistence and effort.
Bregman observes: "Every time I ask a room of executives to list the top five moments their career took a leap forward... failure is always on the list. For some it was the loss of a job. For others it was a project gone bad. And for others still it was the failure of a larger system, like an economic downturn, that required them to step up.
Ironically, though, as the author points out, "most of us spend a tremendous effort trying to avoid even the possibility of failure".
Bregman cites research by Dr. Carol Dweck, professor at Stanford University, who has concluded that the problem is one of mindset.
If someone believes that talent is inborn or fixed then they will see failure as proof of their own limitations so they try to avoid it at all costs and like to solve the same problems repeatedly to reinforce their sense of competence.
However, once they recognise that talent grows with effort and persistence then failure can be seen as an opportunity for improvement. If someone's mindset is focused on growth then they get satisfaction from learning, not from a feeling of flawlessness.
Bregman explains: "If you have a growth mindset, then you use your failures to improve. If you have a fixed mindset, you may never fail, but neither do you learn or grow."
According to Dweck's research, it is possible to change from a fixed mindset to one of growth.
Bregman believes a growth mindset is the secret to maximising potential. He says: "Want to grow your staff? Give them tasks above their ability. They don't think they could do it? Tell them you expect them to work at it for a while, struggle with it. That it will take more time than the tasks they're used to doing. That you expect they'll make some mistakes along the way. But you know they could do it."
How to Succeed by Failing
Peter Bregman, BusinessWeek.com, 06/07/09
