Recognizing that failure is healthy and a normal consequence of working in a complex environment can help us look at failure as a learning process instead of dreading it. It also helps to let your failure(s) be out in the open, making them visible to yourself and others.A public failure is a learning for all, as they learn to make errors and take ownership of their mistakes. Openly admitting your mistakes also sends out a strong message of your being courageous, humble and bold.

Destigmatizing Failure

Many mission-critical work environments report errors and mistakes on time. This is because the employees are allowed to commit and share mistakes, and report them without fearing that they will be sacked. This psychological safety is crucial to a healthy work environment.
It helps to know that failing is an inevitable part of our complicated working life, and aids our lifelong learning.

Admitting Errors 

Humans tend to blame mistakes on external events, circumstances and people. Admitting failure goes against our ego, as we think it exposes our incompetence, leading to potential loss of respect and self-esteem. This makes us fear failure and highlights our tendency to attribute success to our efforts, and failure to circumstances.

Admitting Failure

On November 10, 2019, I created a personal Slack channel for my company, LifeLabs Learning, to lose 10 pounds by the end of the year. The message: "This is the 10 lb challenge! It's conceited and hardcore. You ready?" Around 20% of the organization ended up joining the challenge (including one of our CEOs).

Admitting Failure

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