Not only does nobody enjoy failure, but we also often fail to learn from it, resulting in failing twice! Building on my previous podcast episode with Amy Edmondson (Episode 116), Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, we dive into her latest book, Right Kind of Wrong, and unpack the science of failing well.

This approach helps us avoid the tripwires that often crush courage, limit learning, and expose entire enterprises to greater risks. Learning how to risk more intelligent failure will not only propel you forward more quickly but also spare you the additional setback of neglecting to learn from the invaluable feedback that failure holds.

If you've been holding back from trying something due to the fear of failure, Amy's insights into befriending failure will help you summon the courage needed to take the risk.

Read Amy's book Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well

More about Amy at amycedmondson.com

Leadership isn’t about position or title. It’s about the decision we make, moment by moment, to show up… with head and heart and be a force for good in the lives of others. 

In my conversation with Kirstin, we discuss her new book Head & Heart and how you can be the leader the world needs you to be. We talk about staying self-aware (easier said than done!), being humble, having the courage to say sorry and to bring both your head and heart to making each moment better for others. No small task, but one we’re all called toward in some form.  
 
Buy Head & Heart: The Art of Modern Leadership

Take the Head & Heart Leader Scale and self-assess your modern leadership

Learn more about Kirstin Ferguson and book her for an event

"Unsafe cultures endanger everyone," says Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor at Harvard Business School.

Amy and I unpack why courage and psychological safety are two sides of the same coin, and why fostering psychologically safe workplaces requires people to trust that the pay off for courage is worth the pitfalls.

Regardless of your position, making people feel safe to be honest and vulnerable with you – including sharing things you may not enjoy hearing - is vital for any meaningful relationship to flourish, personally or professionally. 

Check out Amy’s book, The Fearless Organization

You like to think of yourself as a person with integrity, right? Yet, doing what’s right is easier said than done. In a world where examples of poor character are easy to find, it’s easy to rationalize cutting corners or telling “little white lies". However, we often underestimate the cost of compromising what we know, deep down, is the right thing to do.

This episode is a siren call to the highest angels of your nature, guiding you in cleaning up any fractures to your integrity, in your relationships and in your life. If you want to move forward lighter, more rooted to your deepest values and guided by your True North, listen up then lean in to level up how you’re running  your life. Doing so will spare you a considerable amount of mess down the track.

Stanley McChrystal spent his military career navigating the real and deadly risks of combat, finishing a four-star General in Afghanistan overseeing 147,000 soldiers. He has walked the path of courage in ways most of us never will, concluding that the greatest source of risk lays in us - in how we identify, assess, respond and learn from risk.

We cover a lot of ground in our conversation – from the need for more moral courage in leaders today to raising resilient kids.

If you want to navigate risk better and lead smarter, this episode is for you.

EPISODE LINKS:

RISK: A User's Guide 

The McChrystal Group

Watch our full conversation on YouTube

This episode is inspired by chapter one from my book Find Your Courage: The Courage To Take Responsibility 

The quality of your life directly correlates to your willingness to own your experience of life and resist the temptation to blame others or pity yourself. We live in a culture that encourages people to feel powerless and operate from a victim mindset. Yet your greatest power lays in taking full and compete ownership for your life. Sure, you cannot always choose your circumstances, but you always get to choose your response. 

In this episode, I unpack what it really means to be responsible for your life and challenge you to stop making excuses and justifications for what’s not working. Taking responsibility is not always comfortable, but it’s absolutely essential for living a truly rewarding life. 

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Find Your Courage: 12 Acts for Becoming Fearless in Work and Life

Margie’s other books can be found at www.margiewarrell.com/books

Let’s face it, if it were easy to be brave with our lives - to lean into our fears, choose ‘courage over comfort’ and lay our pride, ego and vulnerability on the line, more of us would. Truth is, our deep seated fears often keep us from taking the very actions that would help us create more rewarding lives. In this new series, I invite you to step back and consider where and how you’re being called to step up and ‘take courage’ even as that little voice in the back of your head urges you not to. 

If you need a little encouragement right now, you’ve landed in the right place!

I'll be sharing insights from my first book Find Your Courage (McGraw Hill, 2009) throughout this series. Check out this book and all my books at www.margiewarrell.com/books 

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