This past weekend, I planned every detail for serving 100 people at a curling tournament and planned every last detail to create an amazing experience. Everyone said the food & hospitality was great, but I was so hard on myself when I failed twice. My homemade mac n’cheese was a big hit, but I underestimated the amount to make. People came to me looking for more of it for which I smiled and redirected them to the abundant soup, salad and bread. While there was plenty to continue to feed them, I shrugged off that miss only to make another mistake. We ordered sandwiches for Sunday pick up, but when my volunteer confirmed I had ordered it for Saturday instead, I couldn’t believe I made that mistake. We picked up the sandwiches and stored them until Sunday. I soon learned that bread can not withstand salad dressing and tuna fish for 24 hours. I felt so bad, but did anyone really notice? Probably not, but I did and again felt I missed the mark.
So what does too little mac n’ cheese and soggy bread have to do with business? It is a story about being human and how we are conditioned to respond to such failure. In business we fail to prepare leaders to manage these setbacks. We focus on the 1% of failure and fail to celebrate the 99% of successes we take for granted each day. I see so many C-Suite leaders of today and tomorrow lacking a framework, I’m compelled now to share some ideas to change your mindset.
What to do when you miss the mark!
Self Doubt: Acknowledge it! By doing so, it shows you’re growing. Reflect on why you feel this way. Did anyone else doubt you or just you? Was there an experience in the past that you’re projecting now? It’s okay to have these feelings, but the key is in how fast you can move on. What did you learn? Can you take note and apply next time? Self doubt can quickly move you to action.
Adaptation: With this new insight, can you create a system that helps you to adapt to self doubt, identify an action, improve and repeat. Adaptation is your skill to respond to changing conditions and the ability to execute with a new current state. Did you make a mistake in a presentation? Could you have reviewed with others in advance? If yes, can you do this going forward to minimize risk? I know you can! So is it really self doubt any longer?
Let’s talk about failure: I suggest you shift your mindset. Consider you have 100 opportunities of success each day. How do you feel about being 99% successful? You wake up in the morning, take your vitamins, put out the trash, pack your lunch, get the kids to school on time… why do we adopt the narrative of failure? Could we celebrate 99% good and with that 1%, celebrate an opportunity to improve? If nothing else, you build a good story to tell others and get a laugh from our humanity!
Returning back to mac n’ cheese and soggy sandwiches… I now know that curlers are hungry people; really hungry! If I have to feed 80, I now know to prepare for 90. With regard to ordering food a day early; next time I’ll have someone else check my work. Error proofing was not built into my process. I’ve accepted this and despite some soggy sandwiches, I had plenty of soup and other leftovers to keep our curlers happy!
Now is the time for you to collect your thoughts and take action.
Don’t let “missing the mark ” be your narrative and dictate your ability to adapt and and improve everyday. You know you’re wildly successful and occasionally you’ll be human in the process.
Are you getting ready to do another presentation, but you fear failure because your last one did not go so well? Did you fail to get that initiative over the finish line, but learned more about stakeholder management? Not sure how to manage through another crisis because the last one you were in did not fare so well?
Maybe you simply need a support system to apply these new insights. I find leaders simply need a place to talk through the challenges and that’s why I created The Drop In CEO Collective, a forum for C-Suite leader support. To learn more about our next event, you can visit our page and register.
Would you rather have a quick 1-2-1 to discuss your specific challenge? Could The Drop In CEO be your support system? Direct Message me on LI or contact me via my website and let’s have a conversation.
Until then, I wish you much success.