132. Lean Into Failure: How to Make Mistakes That Work | Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication...

• Psychological safety is the belief that one can speak up candidly with interpersonally risky content without fear of negative consequences.
• It is not about being comfortable or not having high standards, but rather creating a learning environment where everyone's voice is welcome.
• To build psychological safety, leaders should:
  • Make early and frequent references to the nature of the work and why it requires open communication.
  • Demonstrate genuine curiosity by asking questions and listening attentively.
  • Master the pause and respond productively to bad news.
  • Acknowledge and express gratitude when people act vulnerably or share mistakes.
• How leaders respond to vulnerability and mistakes is critical in fostering psychological safety.

Leader's Role in Creating a Safe Environment (5m36s)

• Status and power differences can make it difficult to speak up candidly.
• A study of intensive care units showed that those with a flat psychological safety pattern had an 18% improvement in morbidity and mortality compared to those with a hierarchical pattern.
• Leaders can create a psychologically safe environment by acknowledging, rewarding, and being open to those with less power.

Empowering Every Team Member (8m27s)

• Team members can contribute to psychological safety by asking thoughtful questions, listening carefully to responses, and being appreciative of others' contributions.
• Psychological safety is not something that can be achieved once and for all, but rather something that must be worked on continuously by all team members.
• Feeling psychologically safe includes feeling okay making mistakes and admitting them.

Understanding Failure (10m46s)

• Psychological safety is about feeling comfortable admitting mistakes, not necessarily feeling happier about making them.
• Mistakes are deviations from known practices that will achieve the desired results, while failures are unpredictable negative outcomes in new territory.
• There are three archetypes of failure:
  • Basic failures: caused by a single mistake, mostly avoidable.
  • Complex failures: caused by multiple factors coming together in an unfortunate way, not avoidable by any single factor alone.
  • Intelligent failures: undesired results of thoughtful exploration into new territory, necessary to gain knowledge and make progress.
• Leaders should communicate about failures and mistakes in a way that encourages learning and resilience.

Communicating About Failure (14m7s)

• Leaders should emphasize the importance of context when discussing failure.
• Two dimensions of context:
  • Uncertainty: Is there a clear path to success or is experimentation necessary?
  • Stakes: How significant are the potential consequences of failure?
• Leaders should encourage appropriate risk-taking based on the context.
• Failure can be a valuable learning opportunity if approached correctly.
• The author's former company held "Failure Fridays" where employees could share their failures and learn from each other.
• The purpose of Failure Fridays was to encourage bold experimentation and innovation.
• Failures were celebrated as learning opportunities rather than punished.
• The company's motto was "scary fun," which emphasized the importance of embracing uncertainty and taking risks.

Unequal Opportunity to Fail (18m34s)

• Not everyone has the same opportunity to fail.
• Underrepresented minorities, especially those in senior positions, may feel additional pressure to succeed due to the fear of reflecting poorly on their identity group.
• This can lead to increased risk aversion and less innovation.
• Call attention to the problem of unequal opportunity to fail.
• Commit to creating an environment where people from underrepresented groups have an equal opportunity to shine.
• Celebrate intelligent failures from underrepresented groups.
• Work to make intelligent failures less rare in leadership positions.

The Final Three Questions (20m39s)

• Amy admits that she doesn't have a healthy response to failures, whether they are intelligent failures or basic failures caused by her own mistakes.
• She tends to ruminate rather than reflect on her failures and has to constantly catch and correct herself.
• Amy admires Nikolai Tangen, the head of the Norwegian growth fund, for his exceptional communication skills.
• She highlights his ability to ask good questions and create a platform for leaders and CEOs to share their wisdom and messages effectively through his podcast.
• Clarity: Take the time to think through and be clear about the message you want to convey.
• Caring: Remind yourself that you genuinely care about the audience, the work, and the goals you're trying to achieve.
• Commitment: Bring passion and enthusiasm to your communication to convey your dedication and commitment to the subject matter.