No Fear Of Failure

I don't care if you are a sports fan, you need to listen to what Scott Frost said in a recent press conference. He talks about wanting an environment where players have "no fear of failure". The reason behind that comment is where the real lesson is at, "Once you take away the fear of making a bad play it frees you up to go make good plays". Think beyond sports and I'm sure you can remember a time where you were focused on not making a mistake. What was the outcome? I guarantee you it wasn't your best effort, it has a negative effect on you. I had a boss in the past that I was always afraid of, it still affects me to this day as I will at times find myself more worried about establishing my defense rather than simply learning from my mistake and moving on.

Great managers and leaders establish a culture of learning. When you are learning something new you will make mistakes. When you are first learning to play the piano you aren't going to sound like Mozart, you will hit the wrong keys. If you are worried you will get smacked on the knuckles you will never be able to play a masterpiece.

This is a lesson I've been trying to teach my daughters. As dancers I see them at times becoming more worried about doing the wrong steps rather than focusing on giving everything they can to the dance. They can execute every move perfectly but if it costs them the emotion of the dance then they are missing the first purpose of dance.

I would encourage you to take a listen to this sound bite (click here) and then spend some time and figure out what you are afraid of. What needs to happen to change things so you have no fear of failure?


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