I was recently facilitating a meeting. There were many bright and experienced brains present. Everybody was aware of the need for change. Yet nobody was coming up with any particularly innovative ideas.
As often happens, there came a point where there was a long silence. . . that seemed to stretch forever. People started fidgeting in their seats. Finally a brave soul looked the leader in the eye and said:
“For us to be able to come up with bold innovative ideas you need to make us feel that it’s ok to make mistakes.”
There you have it! What I heard this person say to the leader was: When I make a mistake in my quest for innovation,
Are you going to encourage me instead of criticizing me?
Are you going to hold judgment on my capabilities?
Are you going to make fun of my mistake?
Are you going to humiliate me in public?
Are you going to give me the benefit of the doubt?
Are you going to shame me for my failure?
In other words, can we forget what we have been taught from Kindergarten and not be afraid of failure?
Fear of failure is the worst enemy of innovation
High standards and expectations are good. But taken to an extreme they stifle innovation. Fear of failure, together with wanting to be perfect, and shaming people for making mistakes, freeze innovation.
In order to innovate you might need to fail. If that is the case, hurry up and fail fast! Then pick yourself back up and try again.
As a leader, do you have the courage to allow multiple failures in the search for innovative solutions? Edison did, and the rest is history!
Photo by: Cayusa