I forwarded it to my whole team

“I forwarded your video to my whole team because I wanted them to know I’d been there too.” 

Thanks Amara – you made my day with your response to my series on failure.  

‘Me too’ makes it safe to be imperfect  

We spend a lot of energy making sure people don’t see us get things wrong. The mistake you denied and the one you hope that nobody finds out about.  

By sharing a video about failure to her whole team, Amara is a is saying ‘I stuff up too. It’s ok to talk about our mistakes.’ 

She is creating the conditions for her team to reflect on mistakes, not rush to cover them up. Amara is helping them feel safe to be imperfect and that’s (fl)awesome leadership.  

Your responses to my stories about failure 

Amara shared a video in which I highlighted some of your responses to my series about failure. I picked out key words from your responses and, as you can see from the list below, they move from instinct to possibility. From what we do when we’re caught, to what can open up when we stop hiding. 

Take your time, read them slowly and see what lands for you.  

1. Human 

2. Reflex 

3. Ashamed 

4. Exposed 

5. Self-preservation 

6. Vulnerable 

7. Brave 

8. Imperfect 

9. Safe 

10. Honest 

11. Permission 

12. (Fl)awesome 

Maybe human and reflex felt uncomfortably, or perhaps comfortingly, close. 

Maybe ashamed, exposed and self-preservation made you wince. 

Maybe vulnerable and brave made you stand a little taller.  

Maybe imperfect, safe and honest are where you’re trying to get to. 

Maybe permission made your shoulders relax.  

Maybe (fl)awesome brings you home and feels like the whole point 

Let me know, and if there are any words you’d add.  

© Jacinta Cubis 

Your invited 

If your team is stuck in a cycle of denying, covering up or skipping over mistakes, you have an open invitation to my Flearn workshop, whenever you’re ready. 

Flearn gives you a safe structure for the conversations nobody’s having out loud. It has been tried and tested with teams, and by me — because anything I ask a group to do, I also do myself.   

Flearn helps leaders help their teams. In Amy Edmondson’s words, 

‘The job of leaders is to see that their organisations don’t just move on after a failure but stop to dig in and discover the wisdom contained in it.’ 

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Thanks for reading this far! 

Stay (fl)awesome! 

Amy Edmondson link: 

Strategies for Learning from Failure, Harvard Business Review, April, 2011