The Art of Controlled Failures
I have been a manager and mentor to people in multiple companies across two countries. Through this time, I have experimented with different ways to help people learn their jobs and new skills. Over the years I have fine-tuned a technique I call “Controlled Failures” to increase individual performance and continue to develop and improve.
In order to perform at a high level, there are many steps, processes, procedures, and troubleshooting, making it almost impossible to teach/show all possible scenarios to someone. Believing that you can give someone a manual or other type of process book and they will be able to figure it out is a fallacy.
So, what do I do?
After I have shown people the basics and I see they are capable of performing the tasks, I allow for failures. I believe once a person reviews how the failure occurred, they gain a clearer understanding of what their goals are and how to achieve them. If I asked you to remember a time you made a mistake in your job, I’m sure you can come up with some great examples. And I’m almost certain that you have not made them again.
I let my team fail all the time. I let them follow a path and see how they react when they get to the realization that it was wrong. As a good business, I account for a certain amount of waste and errors, so why not use them when teaching? The reason why it is called “Controlled Failures” is because we ensure the failure does not impact the customer. We may need to re-do part or all of the project, but at the end of the day, we will give our clients the best product possible in the timeframe they need.
A controlled failure can be allowing someone to not follow a process to then learn why the process is important. Or it can be allowing them to struggle with a task and asking them how to troubleshoot without giving them the answer. The goal is to expand their understanding in place of feeding them all the answers.
Our team learns from failures and strives to not make them again. They learn why and how the failures happen, and experience the consequences. I know after a controlled failures if a person can perform the job on their own or needs more training. In turn, the customers will receive a better product or service, allowing faster company and team growth.
Controlled failures are a great way to improve trust within your team and reduce micromanagement. I highly recommend you consider how you can implement control failures into your training to see how it impacts your team!
This is how I train my team for success, what about you?
Author: Galo Fraga
Running an award-winning marketing firm with sales growth of more than double the industry standard comes innately for Galo. With over 30 years of experience, he has worked with many notable brands, including J.P. Morgan Chase, Congressional Bank, Alliance Data, Limited Brands, DSW, Merck, New York & Co, Pfizer, and many more.
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