What happens when we don’t get it right?

Note: this post is a reflection piece I am writing while reading Amy Edmondson “Right Kind of Wrong”

A fear of failure can be crippling for leaders. This can be the case, not only when leaders are trying to innovate, but also when they are trying to maintain the status quo. Goal-orientated  leadership has been identified as part of a theoretical framework for successful schools, but what happens when we don’t meet those goals, and how could we manage our reaction(s) to that?

Learning to fail well is hard to do, difficult to teach (harder to codify!) and therefore hard to see where it is happening well. Edmondson gives three main reasons why failing well is hard:

• Aversion

• Confusion

• Fear

Aversion to failure relates to an emotional response to it.

“Rationally we know that failure is an unavoidable part of life, certainly a source of learning, and even a requirement for progress. But, as research in psychology and neuroscience has shown, our emotions don’t always keep up with our clear-eyed rational understanding”

In the fast-paced nature of schools, as with many organisations, failure and fault are often undistinguishable. When we find a problem, we want to know why (and how) it went wrong, and therefore, who is responsible. Attribution of fault to an individual or team may feel personal and can therefore drive an emotive response. This isn’t saying finding the reason for a failure, or attributing fault for it is inherently a thing to do; what is important to understand how the situation came to be, to ensure improvements can be made. This framing is important to ensure that the individual or team do not feel averse to any potential future failure, but that they also feel that they are supporting in their endeavours to “put it right for next time”.

Confusion

To develop a better understanding of how a failure has happened, we need to understand that not all failures are the same. Edmondson discusses 3 different failure types:

• Basic

• Intelligent

• Complex

Basic failures are caused by mistakes or oversights within a well-defined system, where uncertainly is generally low; e.g. incorrectly calculatedly an attainment measure.

Intelligent failures take place when a well thought out process does not deliver the results as expected and can be used to guide future learning and development. These failures often happen when the system is not so clearly defined, and where there is a high degree of uncertainty about what will work.

Complex failures often have multiple causes that are interrelated and difficult to untangle. Unpredictable, and therefore luck, often factors into the outcome of a complex failure.

By having a better understanding of the type of failure that has occurred, a more forensic discussion can be had about the way forward. Basic failures can lead to quick, easy wins, intelligent failure can influence the plans for future projects.

It is important that each type of failure is given the correct amount of time and detail for discussion; forensically analysing a basic failure, where the solution is clear, can come across as laborious, and frankly, as waste of time. On the flip side, not discussing the learning from intelligent failures can lead to frustration at repeatedly making similar mistakes in related projects.

Fear

Fear is failure is most often rooted in our dear of looking bad in the eyes of others, and therefore a fear of being different, and rejected from a social group.

Fear prevents the learning process; research has shown that when we are fearful, we divert resources away from psychological learning processes.

Fear also inhibits our ability to discuss failures. While we may have reduced the confusion about the type of failure that is taking place, the emotional reaction to failure often takes over and becomes the focus of any discussion.

If there is a culture of fear in our schools around failure, not only will people be less willing to try something new but, perhaps more importantly, they will be less willing to let you know when they do something wrong, or when they fail. It may also affect staff members responses as to whether they understand what they should be doing, through a fear of getting in wrong, or appearing as if they are getting it wrong.

How can we reduce our negative reactions to failure?

While there is no silver bullet, Edmondson makes some clear suggestions that are important for school leaders.

1. Reduce fear aversion by reframing the process of attribution.

Think about the how, why and who (at all levels, and everyone part) of the failure, and ensure high levels of support are in place around future plans to rectify failures.

2. Use the types of failure as a framework to decide how to move forward from failures.

Collectively decide on the type of failure taking place to guide the time and details of discussions, and the actions that need to take place.

3. Remove a fear of failure by building a psychologically safe place of work, while also maintain high standards.

Think about what mechanisms exist for people to feed back failures without any fear of repercussions (there is so much more to this area and developing a culture of psychology safety with high expectations, than this simple point. The blogs of writer such as Sam Crome, Lekha Sharma and Kat Howard write about this far more eloquently!)