We've all had that sinking feeling in the pits of our stomach reading that latest test score or financial report and seeing what we don't like. I can guarantee that even if you tell your friends that you don't care, failure is a life shaping phenomenon. It can drive a knife right through your soul and close off potentials. At least that's what we're taught at school. I'm writing this blog today to show you that not only is failure an essential part of life, but that it's what turns leaders into great leaders.
Failure is a Part of Life
No matter who you are or what you do at some point you have failed at something. Whether you are willing to admit this is a different story! As you fill find on Forbes website "Successful leaders today need...a track record of failure". Many business people would throw their briefcases high in the air in disgust at this comment. We are forever being told 'failure bad, success good' and sure success is nice but failure makes up the stepping stones to success. So what really is failure then?
Understanding Failure for What it is
Success Magazine put it well that "society doesn't reward defeat" but when you look at it closely, failure is almost never defeat. Failure isn't just about not achieving your goals. The most successful people of our time have a track record of taking big risks with the real possibility of failure. Bill Gates's first business Traf-O-Data did not have any success and yet his determination led him to where he is today as one of the richest people on earth. Failure is all about giving something a go. You may not get out what you intended or get anything out at all but at least you've learnt from the experience. learning's which prove invaluable in the success of the next project. Here can be seen that failure isn't a dead end. Rather its a component of the path to success. We try and test and we fail only to take that failure and learn from it to improve our next venture. It raises the question 'how can we learn if we never fail?'. Of which the answer is remarkably straight forward, we cant.
Why is Failure so Good?
The basic plot line of any hero movie is that they face challenges and fail along the way to ultimate success. The reason why these movies have been modelled in this way is because it reflects how we perceive failure. We respect and admire those who have faced challenges and stumbled occasionally towards their goal. Huffington Post sums it up nicely in that "failure should not be a mark of shame, but a badge of honour showing the world that you are willing to try again". The leaders of the next generation need to have failed as some point. They have to have had the 'brought down to earth' sensation of reevaluating and reattempting a goal. As follows of these great leaders it helps us to know that those who we admire have gone through the same emotions as ourselves. It forms tie to that person as we can empathise and relate to their struggles.
All up?
Failure is no longer a mark of embarrassment. It's a way of showing others that they can trust you because you've been there and failed too. A leader could be anyone, however a great leader is born out of their failures. Nothing teaches a lesson harder than trying and failing but most often this gives birth to leadership brilliance.
