Dean Becker, the CEO of Adaptiv Learning Systems, has been researching and developing programs around the idea of resilience since 1997. His company found that the level of resilience a person exhibits determines their success in business, far more than their level of education, training, or experience. Contrary to popular belief, resilience isnât something that only a select few are born with. It can most definitely be learned.
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After a retrospective, itâs a good idea to write down the learnings and share them widely. A team growing hardy from its own successes and missteps is great, but when they can also help others improve or avoid similar errors, thatâs even better. At the end of the day, a resilient organization isnât one that never makes mistakes but rather one whose mistakes make it stronger over time.
Resilient processes also try to create repeatable best practices. Most of the work needed to make something happen in todayâs world is staggeringly complex. Just imagine the number of steps it takes to get a plane to take offâthe cabin must be cleaned from the previous flight, the jet must be refueled, passengers must be checked in, luggage must be loaded, safety checks must be done, and so forth. Itâs near impossible to remember all the steps in your head, let alone try to improvise them in the moment.
As leaders, our task is to feel our way through the heartbreaking, fear-inducing roller-coaster rides, learning not to vomit with each rise and dip. Then, just as weâve built up the resiliency needed to recover from each nauseating dip, we find that we no longer have the need for it. The little train that makes up the Cyclone comes to a stop and we finally, wisely, get off the ride.
For example, meeting with senior executives in a large financial services firm in April
2020, I listened as they explained that the current business environment made failure temporarily âoff-limits.â Understandably concerned about an economic climate increasingly challenged by a global pandemic, these business leaders wanted everything to go as well as possible. Generally speaking, they were sincere in their desire to learn from failure. But enthusiasm about failing was acceptable when times were good, they told me; now that the future looked uncertain, pursuing unerring success was more imperative than ever. These smart, well-intentioned people needed to rethink failure. First, they needed to appreciate the context. The need for fast learning from failure is most critical in times of uncertainty and upheaval, in part because failures are more likely! Second, while encouraging people to minimize basic and complex failures may help them focus, welcoming intelligent failures remains essential to progress in any industry. Third, they needed to recognize that the most likely outcome of their prohibition on failure wasnât perfection but rather not hearing about the failures that do occur. When people donât speak up about small failuresâsay, an accounting errorâthese can spiral into larger failures, such as massive banking losses.
People such as James West and Jennifer Heemstra and Clarence Dennis skillfully applied the lessons they gleaned from painful setbacks as part of building successful and fulfilling lives. But weâre not hardwired to confront failure thoughtfully; we have to learn to do it.
Ironically, as Cohenâs story illustrates, a learning frame is not only healthier, itâs also more rational than a performance frame. Itâs more in tune with the uncertainty and constant challenges found in any life or job. We canât shield ourselves from disappointments and failures. But we can learn healthy, productive responses to setbacks and accomplishments alike.