Learn From Failure , and Then Move On?
Q: I have just finished a project that went sideways and I sense there are both personal and professional impacts for me. How can I recover from this career setback? A.S., Halifax
A: All professionals have setbacks in their career. George Clooney was in 15 TV pilot shows before his career took off with ER. The true test of any professional is the person's ability to deal with failure. In fact, employers should ask potential hirees how they have dealt with failure. It is often the most important question you can ask a job candidate, since it gives you an accurate picture of the person you would be getting. Here is an action plan:
1. Own your part in the failure You have to be honest with yourself and take appropriate ownership over the issues. Dealing with the negative emotions and frustrations is key: This enables you to work through the issue in a healthy way and get to a resolution sooner.
2. Separate the facts After you deal with the emotions of a career failure, you can start to see the facts. As you start dealing with the facts, you are empowered to see the situation in a more objective way. You can become more impartial, and gather the data that can help you learn from this experience.
3. Recover as much as you can from this situation You can't afford to have too many projects that don't go well, so learn from this experience. Take stock of all the elements involved; the team, the support of, and type of, management, the scope of the project, your role on the team, budgets, project timeline, technology issues and any strategic partners that may have been involved. Look at each piece and identify what worked and what didn't work. Look at your most recent successful project and benchmark the differences. Study yourself; this will give you a strong sense of your success and failure patterns.
Hockey coach Roger Neilson was a pioneer in taping and reviewing previous games, and this had a tremendous impact on the teams he coached. One of his key strengths was that he was not afraid of the failures he reviewed. Neilson hit them head on, and had the courage to start each game afresh. Learn from his example -- your career is worth it
A: All professionals have setbacks in their career. George Clooney was in 15 TV pilot shows before his career took off with ER. The true test of any professional is the person's ability to deal with failure. In fact, employers should ask potential hirees how they have dealt with failure. It is often the most important question you can ask a job candidate, since it gives you an accurate picture of the person you would be getting. Here is an action plan:
1. Own your part in the failure You have to be honest with yourself and take appropriate ownership over the issues. Dealing with the negative emotions and frustrations is key: This enables you to work through the issue in a healthy way and get to a resolution sooner.
2. Separate the facts After you deal with the emotions of a career failure, you can start to see the facts. As you start dealing with the facts, you are empowered to see the situation in a more objective way. You can become more impartial, and gather the data that can help you learn from this experience.
3. Recover as much as you can from this situation You can't afford to have too many projects that don't go well, so learn from this experience. Take stock of all the elements involved; the team, the support of, and type of, management, the scope of the project, your role on the team, budgets, project timeline, technology issues and any strategic partners that may have been involved. Look at each piece and identify what worked and what didn't work. Look at your most recent successful project and benchmark the differences. Study yourself; this will give you a strong sense of your success and failure patterns.
Hockey coach Roger Neilson was a pioneer in taping and reviewing previous games, and this had a tremendous impact on the teams he coached. One of his key strengths was that he was not afraid of the failures he reviewed. Neilson hit them head on, and had the courage to start each game afresh. Learn from his example -- your career is worth it
posted by Alan Kearns at 12:46 PM
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