But what if you fail?

SHORT STORY: Olivia sat at her desk, going over it again and again. The research was pretty clear, but that didn’t make her feel any better. She had never done this before, and the outcome was anything but certain. She shuffled the papers on her desk once more and looked out of her office. Her team continued on as if they couldn’t see that everything hung in the balance. How could they be so calm? If they had to make this call, they wouldn’t be laughing and carrying on. A part of Olivia wished to be one of them again, enjoying the carefree existence of limited responsibility.

She shook her head. She had wanted this, though. She had jumped at the chance when it was presented to her. But she wasn’t prepared for the pressure, the isolation, and the constant uncertainty. She was going to have to make a decision soon, one that could potentially alter everything she had worked so hard to build.

But there was another option: a safer bet. One with less risk and an almost guaranteed, albeit significantly more modest, outcome. Olivia set aside the research, and a sense of peace washed over her. As the fear began to subside she realized that she had already made the decision. She would play it safe this time. After all, she hadn’t come this far just to fail.

Failure Can Be A Gift

Deep down we are all terrified of failure. I’m not sure if you connected with any of Olivia’s story above. I know I have experienced this same dilemma many times in my career. Take the risky path where success is not guaranteed or take the safe road most traveled. Sadly, I have taken the known path more times than I would like to admit. I’ve convinced myself that a smaller, safer bet was better because the other path had a higher likelihood of failure. And that scared me.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. We all know that failure is one of the best learning tools and yet we shrink away from it as if it’s fatal. If you ask any truly successful person, they will rattle off a list of failures along their path that got them where they are today. And it was what they learned from those failures that ultimately made them successful. The key was that they kept getting back up and trying again. And this, whether you like it or not, is just part of leadership. If you are responsible for leading a team, you are going to have to make decisions where success isn’t guranteed. And you are going to fail. It’s just part of the gig. And that’s ok. You are called to lead, not be perfect.

Should you try to fail? Should you make a bunch of crazy decisions just to learn? Of course not. But you also shouldn’t make decisions based on fear. You should take appropriate risks for yourself and your teams if you hope to move the needle in a significant way. And if you make a mistake? It’s okay. While you can’t go back and change the beginning, you can always start where you are and change the ending. (One of my favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis.)

So, leaders, next time you have a choice to take a risk or choose the safer path, ask yourself, “Am I only making this decision because I am scared to fail?” And if the answer is yes, then choose to take the risk.