Leadership Lessons from a Retro Arcade: Don’t Be Afraid to Fail
Twice a year we head to Brookfield, IL to visit the largest retro gaming arcade in the world - Galloping Ghost. During our most recent visit, I watched my son play “Street Fighter”. In this game, you “fight” opponents 1 on 1 in a type of karate style in an attempt to knock them out (KO!). The person to win 2 out of 3 fights wins the match and progresses to the next level (a harder opponent). As I watched him play this game, I noticed something really striking.
He confidently went into his first fight with a new opponent knowing that he would likely lose!
Don’t get me wrong. He tried his best to win, but it was clear that his purpose was to learn more about his opponent’s strategies and the effectiveness of his own moves so that he had a better chance of winning the next time around. Each time he lost, he went into the next match with more confidence, more skill and unwavering perseverance. It didn’t take long and he beat the game!
That got me thinking about failing and leadership. So often as leaders we want to be perfect, get it right the first time and expect the same from those we lead. After all, who wants to fail? I wonder how much that mindset hinders our growth. Failure is not fun, but there is a lot to learn from it. And when we feel it is safe to learn from failure, we typically grow more rapidly.
Here are a few tips for how leaders can create an environment of learning from failure.
1. Cultivate a Growth Mindset
Embrace failure as an opportunity for growth. View setbacks as temporary and focus on learning and development.
2. Foster Psychological Safety
Create a safe environment where team members feel comfortable taking risks and sharing failures. Lead by example and share your own failures, demonstrating that it is a normal part of the journey.
3. Promote Iteration and Experimentation
Encourage your team to iterate and experiment with new ideas. Emphasize the value of learning from both successes and failures. Celebrate the courage to try, even when results fall short.
What failures are you prepared to learn from today and how will you encourage others to do the same?
If you’d like to learn more about how I help leaders level up their leadership, please reach out to me via LinkedIn or schedule a call at https://lnkd.in/gzsdi7M.