Do you let your team fail?

 

In business, we don't always have the luxury of allowing our teams to fail. As leaders, we are strict about standards. We monitor the progress of our teams closely. We do all we can to support them and ensure they get the job done. We check every detail and issue clear directions. We don't want our teams to fail because it means we have failed as their leader. In a training environment, our learners can afford to fail. It may seem counterintuitive that as a trainer I let my learners fail. Wouldn't that leave a bad taste? I find that lessons learnt from failure can be much more impactful and memorable. In real business, we should find opportunities for our people. Not to want them to fail, but to want them to be creative, to make decisions, and to take ownership of their outcomes. Sometimes they will fail. But they will also learn and grow.