As a leader at any level or in any situation…have you ever been asked…or asked yourself…does your plan for future action include: Allowing For Failure? Do you think and believe those that work with you would feel “safe” telling you that they messed-up on a project assignment? Would you react with a progressive, quality leadership perspective? Have you found one special chapter in any leadership instruction manual that describes how to best handle and make appropriate personnel reactions when Allowing For Failure in the workplace?

Well…as I researched the issue of Allowing For Failure as a high value leadership trait, I first found an article that reported Allowing For Failure was one of the TOP 10 EMPLOYEE EXPECTATIONS of those entering a new job position. Additionally I found several articles that seemed to suggest that having even “small” corrective plans-of-action for the potential failure of new project activities was not just a recommendation…but almost a modern day requirement!

As you can imagine, my style, history and experiences made writing this Allowing For Failure TRIPLE III TIME message a strong challenge…but change is necessary and natural…right? So here is an important short quotation taken from the Ulliance group that puts this issue in perfect perspective:

“Every mistake has the power to teach you something important, so look for the lesson in every situation. People develop new understandings of themselves, the world they live in, how to relate to other people, the kind of future they might have and a better understanding of how to live life.”

I guess looking back (and forward)…my method for Allowing For Failure was knowing that my innovation mind-set never really expected everything to go great. Rather I just watched to see if everyone was trying their best…and they were!