A writer connected to the world’s top business school recently pointed out that you’re going to fail. You might as well get ready for it now!
Scott Edginer writes:
You will fail. It’s inevitable, so you might as well begin preparing for it now. The failure may be small, like, say, making a mistake on a client engagement. Or it may be quite grand, like losing a job you valued. How you handle that failure can raise or lower the risks of failing again — and shape your legacy as a leader.
In the article, he points out a variety of themes related to managing failure. Most interestingly, Edginer demonstrates the importance of failure by admitting weakness:
Get some help. Feeling down is normal. Prolonged periods of depression and despair are not. If you find you can’t get into that growth-oriented mind-set no matter how much of a break you take, find some way to express your feelings in the company of someone you trust. That could be a friend, a colleague, a mentor, or a therapist. There’s no shame in seeking help when you’ve suffered a setback. And therapy no longer carries the stigma of being damaged that it used to. To prove that, I’ll admit here that I’ve gone to therapy at times in my life when I’ve felt particularly down, and it has helped immensely. See, no stigma.
How about you, are you willing to admit that you need help?