Failure as a springboard to success

"One such element is our attitudes towards failure, particularly when combined with a sense of pride. No one likes to fail, screw up, or get it wrong, and this in-built sense of pride often causes us to internalize these failures and prevents us from embracing and learning from them in our communities. In other words, if we ham-fist something, for many of us our natural inclination is to grit our teeth, wish it had never happened, and step-around said balls-up.

"This is particularly tempting for leaders. With many collaborative communities being meritocracies (in which you develop respect based on good work as opposed to driving a Bugati Veyron), the reputations of our leaders are forged out in the open. Our leaders know that this respect can be lost in a heartbeat, and there is often a reluctance to admit to, embrace and work on the opportunities that surround failure."

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