Did we mention that firefighters are indoctrinated into a never-fail culture ?

Thought so , but worth repeating given what a big part of us this is . Yet , we have all seen the psychological safe space regarding failure applied to the fire service with great results . Think back to the best firefighting instructors you know . They probably gave students the latitude to try and fail coupled with the guidance needed to seat that learned lesson in the student ’ s mind . The same applies to the best fire service leaders when they mentor junior officers . They too provide a safe place for the officer to learn from mistakes .

It ’ s sunlight and water . It is essential to growth . We know this , and yet , we don ’ t .

Humans have evolved to both fear and avoid failure

as part of our survival instinct . This holdover fear is what kept us from being ostracized from our tribes and possibly dying without the protection of the group .

In his 2019 article for Wharton School ’ s business journal Knowledge at Wharton , Scott Cowen wrote about six failures he had while leading Tulane University before and after Hurricane Katrina . Number three on the list was not having the courage to make a decision due to fear of failure or not being liked . His job and safety were under threat when he considered moving the school ’ s athletics from Division I to Division III .

“ The facts were pointing us in a different direction , but I couldn ’ t bring myself to go there . This decision , or lack thereof , has haunted me to this day ,” Cowen wrote 16 years later .

Blame is a big deal because it is so closely tied to our fear of and aversion to failure . Edmondson says her research showed that when asked about how blameworthy a failure was , people said 2 % or less .

When asked how often failure elicited a blame response , that number jumped to upwards of 90 %.

We are used to confronting life-or-death decisions . The consequences may not be as dramatic as having effigies of ourselves burned , as happened to Tulane ’ s Cowen , but the weight of not screwing up is ever present .

Experts agree that the best path to growth , personally and professionally , is to experience failure and learn from it . Where we have a span of control at home and work , it is vital we create those safe spaces where others can learn . If not , we are an accomplice to thwarting their development . We also have to create that safe space internally , to be selfforgiving and courageous enough to take a hard look at those failures and grow .

Failing to fail is , well , failure . And that is as black and white as it gets .

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