Frank Kalman writes in this month’s edition of Chief Learning Officer about learning from failure:
…Aside from the psychological distaste associated with human failure, one of the larger barriers keeping more corporations from embracing it as an engine for learning is rooted in organizational culture. Creating a culture where failure isn’t the goal but is treated as a learning driver remains an uphill battle for many, said Amy C. Edmondson, professor of leadership and management at the Harvard Business School. The most frequent gaffe organizations make is equating perfection with good performance.
“The biggest mistake we make is thinking we’re not supposed to make mistakes,” said Edmondson, who wrote an April 2011 research article on the topic for the Harvard Business Review. Read the article here.
In our work on ambiguity, the ability to learn from failure is a requisite for overcoming the fear of uncertainty.
Kalman’s source, Amy C. Edmondson offers a 12-minute video presentation on the subject here.