Turning Failure into Learning

I want to touch on resilience because that’s so important as well. And when you’re a leader, also as an individual contributor, we usually learn more from failure than success. And so I’m wondering, could you share with us an example of perhaps a failure that you have gone on to cherish now because it’s made you better?

Yes, there have been plenty of failures I’ve had and learning experiences from those. I think some of the most impactful ones when I think back are the people decisions that I’ve made, that maybe haven’t worked out due to not doing the best hiring. And I think those are failures where I haven’t really been clear on what I need for a role.
Years ago, I think about decisions I made around hiring somebody for a role, not giving them the feedback that they needed in the beginning of the role to be successful. And not only did I learn a ton about what I needed to do better, but I also learned about thinking holistically around a team and the impacts to a team, because it wasn’t just that I was making a poor decision with one position, I was impacting our whole team. And I think that hiring well is one of the best things you can do as a leader, and it’s so much better to take the time and have the role be open, even if that, you know, has other implications. But putting the wrong person in a role just has so many ramifications. And that’s something that definitely I failed at and learned.