Failure “______” Me

How do you fill in the blank?

Your answer to this ques­tion has a tremen­dous impact on the deci­sions you make, how you lead and ulti­mately the results you get in busi­ness and in life.

I have asked sev­eral audi­ences this ques­tion over the past few months, and the responses have been every­thing from fail­ure defines me to fright­ens me to teaches me and aids me.

Watch this fan­tas­tic Nike video on fail­ure with Michael Jordon.

I love his last line. “I have failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed.”

As we coach lead­ers, we see that there is a great deal of oppor­tu­nity for them to improve how they lead by improv­ing how they see and deal with failure.

Fear can­not hold us back but instead must be seen as a very nor­mal (and nec­es­sary) part of our journey.

Here are four tips to help you deal with fail­ure and get greater results as a leader.

1. Sweaty Palms: Do one thing every day to stretch your­self, to get uncom­fort­able and make your palms sweat. Do not allow your­self to fall into the rou­tine of com­fort and com­pla­cency. Think of who you should call, meet with, con­front, ter­mi­nate, invest in. Suc­cess can be dan­ger­ous when we stop tak­ing risks and start try­ing to main­tain and protect.
2. Solu­tions Mind­set: Fail­ures are an oppor­tu­nity to come up with new and bet­ter solu­tions. Too many lead­ers allow fail­ure to define and par­a­lyze them. Lose your ego and embrace the learn­ing that can come as a result of fail­ure as you move for­ward and cre­ate solutions.
3. Expect and Plan for Them: What is your worst case sce­nario? If the project fails, if the client says no, then what? What’s your next move? Don’t be sur­prised by fail­ures, but instead be pre­pared for them. Too many quit because they can­not move beyond the ini­tial failure.
4. Bounce Back Men­tal­ity: The best in busi­ness are very much the same as the best in sports. When they fail, they reflect, self exam­ine, look at the data, and get right back on the field, court or range. Or in your case, the con­fer­ence room.

See Full Article (Daniel Harkavy): Here