Failure-Tolerant Leadership for Writers and Others
July 30th 2007 13:00
Writing and Business: A Common Goal
As writers, we all share one ultimate goal: Whether we freelance, provide copy for our employers, donate our writing services to churches or other non-profits, share our hearts and/or insights through our blogs, or simply write for our own enjoyment, our dream is to be successful in our chosen area of endeavor. And, though each of us defines success in our own personal way, there's little question that our ultimate destination--at least our psychological one--is the same: to experience the sense of accomplishment that comes from knowing that we have succeeded in meeting our life goals. In this sense, our personal and/or business-related objectives are not very different from those of any business organization, and therefore, our means of achieving them will also be very much the same.
In the world of business, there are a number of very basic principles which, when correctly understood and applied, can arm employers and managers with the tools they need to create an environment that is conducive to employee success. At least one of these principles applies every bit as much to the individual entrepreneur—including the freelance writer—who seeks to succeed in making his or her dreams a reality.
Failure-Tolerant Leadership: The Principle
This principle is called Failure-Tolerant Leadership, and while generally applied (as mentioned above) only to those individuals who are in positions of authority within an organization, this valuable concept can be easily adapted to the endeavors of each of us as individuals.
Failure Is Only a Temporary Setback
Failure-Tolerant Leadership is the ability of an employer or manager to accept failure as nothing more than a temporary setback on the journey to eventual success. In the viewpoint of such a leader, present failure not only can, but when properly handled and used as a guide to future strategy, likely will become the very catalyst that will fuel future success.
Failure Should Be Viewed as an Opportunity
Failure-Tolerant Leaders not only have a knack for seeing the potential good that can come of failure, but they also possess the uncanny ability to convey their own optimistic, success-oriented vision to others. Rather than seeing and projecting the negative side of failure, as most people tend to do, they recognize that with every failure comes a corresponding opportunity—-an opportunity to take the insights gleaned through failure and use them to forge an entirely new strategy for successfully reaching either the original or a newly modified goal.
Every Attempt at Success Involves Risk
Failure-Tolerant Leaders recognize that whenever a momentous task is undertaken, there will always be a tremendous risk for failure. This potential for coming up short of the mark simply goes hand-in-hand with any attempt to reach it, and the Failure-Tolerant Leader knows this. This is one reason why the Failure-Tolerant Leader does not engage in personal criticism when an employee fails to meet a goal, but rather utilizes both objective review of the strategy used and balanced evaluation of where the plan may have gone off track and why.
Personal Criticism Is Counterproductive
Failure-Tolerant Leaders realize that personal attacks on employees for their errors, shortcomings, inexperience, lapses in judgment, or unwise decisions are counterproductive and only tend to guarantee that the pattern of failure will repeat itself in the future, as the employee becomes even more wary of taking risks. The Failure-Tolerant Leader, instead, projects to the employee the sense that they are both working together to find a solution to a shared problem—-one which both of them have an equal stake in.
Positive, Proactive Collaboration Creates Confidence
In this way, the Failure-Tolerant Leader invigorates his or her staff, infusing them with the confidence they need to go out and give it one more try, to be bold enough to think the situation through, explore new avenues, develop a superior strategy, and take another carefully calculated risk.
Failure Tolerance Equals Permission to Try Again
In short, Failure-Tolerant Leaders encourage their employees to adopt an attitude of daring—to dare to dream, to plan, to hope, to work toward a goal, and perhaps most importantly, to believe in their own ability to achieve it—if not this time, then maybe the next.
Failure-Tolerant Leadership and Freelance Writing: The Application
How does this translate into helpful advice for us as writers? Freelance writers—and any number of other individuals who are working toward a goal of any kind—can adopt the foregoing concepts, applying them to their own situation with incredibly positive results. How? Read on.
1. Determine to Become a Failure-Tolerant Self-Leader/Manager
Convince yourself, to your own satisfaction, that this principle is a valuable weapon in your self-improvement and writing success arsenal. Then, once convinced, determine to use it as a catalyst to positive change in your own situation.
2. Recognize that Failing at Something Doesn’t Make You a Failure
We are all human, we all make mistakes, and no matter how much we may hate to admit it, none of us is right 100% of the time! If failing at something at any given time made us failures, guess what every single one of us would be?
3. View Every Failure as an Opportunity
Failure gives us the chance to pause, take stock of ourselves and our situation, learn from our mistakes, gain wisdom, insight, and valuable experience, and grow in ways we never could have otherwise.
4. Give Yourself a Break
Don’t beat yourself up over your shortcomings. The best leaders in any field recognize their very human weaknesses and past failures, accept them, and move on. (This does not mean they are complacent or that they do not seek self-improvement, however.) The cream of the crop among leaders actually admit their past—and present—mistakes to others, as well as to themselves, providing others with a valuable opportunity to learn from their example.
5. Be Objective
Analyze the causes of the temporary setbacks you encounter in reaching your goals. Figure out exactly where things went off track and why, and incorporate that knowledge into building a new, superior strategy for future success. But recognize that, just as a house is built one brick at a time, so it is with your success. And, unless you are among the greatest of artisans and working under absolutely ideal conditions, your project will likely require regular doses of trial and error.
6. Never Give Up!
If you do, you’ll never know how close you may have come to phenomenal success!
Good luck!
Jeanne
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Comment by Lara M
Love Speaks
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Glad the post was helpful to you! That's always great to hear!
Thanks for stopping by to read and comment!
Jeanne
Comment by Anonymous
Thanks for stopping my my site this evening and adding your wisdom. I appreciate that!
You're sharing some very top quality strategies here on your site. Thanks.
Robyn
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Thanks so much for your kind words about my blog! I agree totally that when we stumble in the race of life, we need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and get back in the running!
Thanks for the visit!
Jeanne