What’s your greatest failure?
Think about it for a minute…
What did you learn from it?…
Did you learn from it?…
Did you grow from it?…
We talk about leadership a lot.
And leadership, in my world, is about influence- inspiring, motivating, holding the team accountable and accomplishing the mission- delivering the project, accomplishing the goal, capturing the new project, building the business, etc.
But sometimes, on our way to that mission- in training, in developing, in testing, in recruiting, in mentoring, in systematizing…we fail.
And if we’re doing it right, we learn from it.
This week I’m writing from West Point.
I’m here on my annual Army Reserve duty- teaching cadets, coaching cadet candidates, reconnecting with colleagues, and walking, running, reminiscing and reacquainting with the post (or campus) with a professional lens…more on that next week.
And as I walk these grounds, I’m reminded again and again: this place is designed to make you fail.
From day one, they set you up- not for success, but for failure.
Because here at the number one leadership institution in the world, leadership development doesn’t start by teaching you how to win.
It starts by teaching you how to fail- and persevere, learn, and move forward.
Which makes it perfect timing that this week’s podcast guest was my friend Matt Crispino.
We’re kicking off a new monthly segment on the podcast – Friendly Strife (First Fridays?) -name in the works- to connect the dots between our leadership work in the build environment and our nonprofit focused work at Friendly Strife foundation. Monthly, for now, conversations with coaches and athletes about how they’re shaping leaders of tomorrow, and how sports shaped them as leaders today.
Matt is now the Head Coach of Princeton Men’s Swimming.
But we go way back- he joined the Army Swim Team coaching staff in 2003 as I was starting my senior year at West Point.
We later shared a house (and a pool deck) when I stayed on as a grad assistant coach.
Our career paths took different directions- but our passion for coaching, developing, mentoring, and leading people to becoming the best version of themselves- as athletes and as humans- has never changed.
That’s what Friendly Strife is all about. It’s our evolution of MacArthurs quote, his opinion that athletics is good for the development of leaders at West Point.
And that’s why failure- when it happens in the right environment- is one of the greatest teachers we can give.
As leaders, we need to build those environments- not in high risk, high stake, unforgiving environments like combat, the Super Bowl or client project delivery.
But in training, quarterly conversations, post-game or post project after action reviews.
No matter where we are leading, we have to remember, some part of our job is finding the time and moments to connect and challenge, to coach and critique.
Moments and opportunities where failure is safe- and where failure fuels growth.
That’s leadership.
That’s Friendly Strife, leadership.
Failure is only our greatest teacher- if we let it be.
Make it a great weekend!
BJ
