Let's Fix It: Shattering the Perfection Myth
Until
recently, I never realized the power of making a mistake in a
meeting. Of course, there’s always that initial moment of dread,
followed by the internal dialogue—“Did I really just say that?”
or “Did everyone see that?”
Even
though they may be embarrassing at first, however, mistakes offer an
opportunity to use one of the most under-appreciated leadership
tools: vulnerability.
I’ve
often felt the expectation that I need to be perfect to be accepted
as a leader, but I have come to realize that revealing my
imperfections actually empowers my team. Being vulnerable changes the
conversation from one where team members feel they have to prove
themselves to one where they are free to think big and take risks.
Our
society is facing huge challenges, from poverty to disease to climate
change— these are challenges that are in need of creative
leadership to find solutions. If we want our teams to tackle these
issues efficiently, we need to ditch the traditional model of
leadership. Let’s support vulnerability instead of fixed structures
in order to fuel the creative engines that business requires to
thrive at today’s breakneck pace; here are some tangible examples
I’ve seen work:
Reduce
judgment by getting personal.
Fear
of judgment is an instant killer of creativity and risk-taking—when
people are worried that others will judge them for their ideas or
flaws, they shut down. We can create a safe space for free thinking
by being completely open. Sheryl Sandberg is an example of a leader
who shows vulnerability by being open.
During
her 2010 TED Talk, Sandberg recounted a
story that
many parents can relate to: her 3-year-old daughter clung to her leg
before she left for a conference, begging her not to get on the
plane. Sandberg’s openness about her personal struggle with
managing time between work and family sends a clear message—there’s
no room for judgment in the auditorium. What’s more, Sandberg’s
presentation opened up space for working parents around the world to
be open about their own struggles, which in turn resulted in real
changes, like daycare programs at offices in increasing numbers.
That’s the power of vulnerability in action.
Share
your mistakes.
Another
obstacle in the way of big thinking and creativity is fear of
failure. By openly promoting that mistakes are an important part of
adapting and growing, leaders can empower those around them to let go
of the stifling need to be perfect, so they can risk more to achieve
more.
A.G.
Lafley, the CEO of Proctor & Gamble, openly talks about his
company's failurein
the 1980s to enter the bleach market — what was a spectacular flop
at first actually taught the brand how to defend existing franchises
and helped to contribute to the massive success of Tide, P&G’s
laundry detergent.
At
Prezi, we encourage open discussions about our failures in an effort
to learn from our mistakes. For example, we celebrate “hero teams”
(which we recognize at the end of a quarter), or those who fell below
their original goal but who might have worked harder and applied
creativity to solve unexpected problems along the way. By recognizing
such work even when it leads to failure, we encourage our teams to
take risks, which often leads to some of our best ideas.
Build
a candid culture.
It
isn’t always easy to be completely honest, especially when talking
about personal flaws. Candor, however, is fundamental to building a
culture of creativity. When people spend less time thinking about
what they should or shouldn’t say, they can spend more time
thinking about the stuff that really matters: their ideas.
There
is tremendous value in having an open culture. I have a
tradition of taking colleagues out for one-on-one “dream dinners,”
where
I ask them to tell me about their goals and aspirations. By asking
them to be completely honest, I enable us to be vulnerable both ways.
They might tell me something I don’t want to hear—like the fact
that our senior engineer wants to start a company of his own—but in
exchange, we build more authentic and rewarding relationships.
Two
years later, that senior engineer is still with us, and now we can
talk entrepreneurship when he has questions or ideas. Authentic
relationships foster better collaboration and bigger thinking, both
of which are essential to creative success.
Encouraging
and supporting vulnerability may seem idealistic, but it’s critical
to success. When it comes to tackling the biggest problems in
business and society, creativity is necessary to find better
solutions. But for creative ideas to emerge we also need vulnerable
leaders who are comfortable with looking at themselves and their
organizations from unexpected perspectives.
Let's
embrace the imperfect and let it inspire us.
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