Meeting Failure with Curiosity and Compassion | Dr. Amy Edmondson

Failure is an experience that is deeply embedded into our lives. 

As we learn to walk we fall. 

As we learn to ride a bike we (usually) fall again. 

And yet even though it is so familiar, so intertwined with our journey through life, not all failure is created equal. 

Which brings up important questions:

• How do we fail well? 
• What are the crucial distinctions that might help us separate good failure from bad?
• How do we learn to identify when failure is our friend, and prevent most of it when it is not? 

These bigger questions about failing wisely are at the core of the conversation today. Dr. Amy Edmondson is back on the show and together we’ll explore:

• How we can stay open to learning from failure at the individual and team level
• How leaders can create the conditions for learning in the face of failures. 
• The importance of curiosity before blame - and a simple way to practice it
• The reasons why most failures are not blameworthy and yet that is often the knee jerk reaction in organizations
• The three types of failure and how diagnosing failure type can lead to learning and preventing further failure.
• Painful emotions that can arise in the face of failure, and the importance of compassion, vulnerability, and giving ourselves permission to be human. 
• Why failure is not an equal opportunity proposition, and her vision for a world where everyone has equal license to fail intelligently. 
• Some of Amy's reflections on the importance of play, having fun, experimenting, taking risks, trying new things, and why practicing in low stakes situations has tremendous upside when it comes to getting better at failing. 

Interested in diving deeper into Amy’s work around failure? Check out her new book: Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well 

Did you find this episode inspiring? Here are other conversations we think you'll love:

• Giving Everyone Permission to Feel | Dr. Marc Brackett
• Creating Fearless Organizations | Dr. Amy Edmondson

More about Amy Edmondson:

Ranked #1 on the latest Thinkers50 ranking of the world’s most influential management thinkers Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, a chair established to support the study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful enterprises that contribute to the betterment of society. She is the author of 7 books and over 60 scholarly papers. She is a sought-after keynote speaker with a worldwide following. For more visit amycedmondson.com

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