Failure may not be a Stepping Stone

Faceplants and Feedback Loops: When Failure Isn’t Good

Let’s be real for a minute. Not every failure is a stepping stone. Some are more like a pothole you saw coming and drove into anyway.

We are not totally honest about failure. I'm an optimist: “Fail fast, fail forward!” Sure, that works - if the failure comes from risk-taking, innovation, or unforeseen challenges. But what about the times you knew better? When the red flags were flying, the gut check was loud, and you just...did it anyway?

That’s not a stepping stone. That’s a faceplant.

And in those moments, the lesson isn’t found in some inspirational quote. It’s found in the consequences. The blown budget. The missed deadline. The client who quietly moves on. The team that starts to disengage.

The Difference Between Honest Mistakes and Avoidable Ones

There’s a difference between:

• “We tried something bold and it didn’t work.”

• “I ignored what I knew to be true and hoped it’d be fine.”

The first is feedback. The second is a reckoning.

And yet both can teach - if we’re honest about what went wrong.

Own the Faceplant

Here’s the good news: owning a failure - especially the ugly, “yeah I should’ve known better” kind—is one of the fastest ways to build credibility as a leader. It shows self-awareness. It models accountability. It resets your internal compass.

What doesn’t help? Dressing up a poor decision in buzzwords. Blaming the team. Rewriting the story so you come out looking better than you should.

A Better Way to Lead Through Mistakes

Next time something goes wrong, skip the spin. Instead, ask:

• Did I ignore something I already knew?

• Was I hoping a bad plan would work out of sheer willpower?

• What part of this is actually on me?

The answers may sting - but they’ll also shape your growth far more than the applause that comes after a risk gone right.

At BizCoachTN, we help teams build honest feedback loops, own their blind spots, and move forward with clarity. If you're ready to grow past the spin and into real momentum, let’s talk.

#leadership #selfawareness #growthmindset #teamdevelopment #decisionmaking #BizCoachTN