40 min
Lessons from Failures: Navigating Mistakes with Amy Edmondson, Author of ”Right Kind of Wrong” My Favorite Mistake: Navigating Business and Career Pitfalls for Leadership Growth and Innovation
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- Management
Episode page with video, transcript, and more
My guest for Episode #234 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Amy C. Edmondson, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, renowned for her research on psychological safety over twenty years.
Named by Thinkers50 in 2021 (And again here in 2023) as the #1 Management Thinker in the world, Edmondson’s Ted Talk “How to Turn a Group of Strangers into a Team” has been viewed over three million times.
She received her PhD, AM, and AB from Harvard University. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is the author of books including The Fearless Organization, Teaming, and her latest, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well is available now.
Edmondson talks about the duality of mistakes – some that lead to massive successes and some that warrant a more mindful approach to growth and learning. Listen in as she recounts an endearing mistake from her personal life in the spectrum of Growth Mindset, discusses different types of failures and insights into how they can be reframed as opportunities for growth, exploration, and innovation.
Edmondson emphasizes the importance of Psychological Safety and the transformation from a ‘speak up' culture into a ‘listen up' culture within organizations.
Tune in today for an enlightening discussion on the fine line between reflecting and ruminating, along with Edmondson’s personal anecdotes from her writing journey.
Questions and Topics:
How do you see the connection between mistakes and failures?
Sometimes failure is caused by outside factors?
As much as I try to be positive about mistakes and failure, I don’t love the phrase “fail early, fail often” — where do you think that phrase or concept misses the mark?
Psychological safety comes up A LOT in this podcast series when we talk about a culture of learning from mistakes… how do you define it?
Different types of failures — they’re not all created equally?
“Blameworthy” vs. “Praiseworthy” failures?
Why do organizations collectively blame people more than individuals blame others?
When leaders are super negative about mistakes… how is demanding perfection or say they must punish (or saying failure is NOT an option) counterproductive?
Learning from failure is not as easy as it sounds? Reflecting without ruminating?
Mistakes in the book writing process?
Proofreading mistakes that slipped through?
Renowned Leadership Expert Amy E. Edmondson and Her Views on Psychological Safety and Failure
The Duality of Mistakes
Edmondson separates mistakes into three categories, drawing from her extensive research into the topic of failures and mistakes. These categories include examples from both her research and her personal life. Her favorite mistake to discuss lies within her research fields, and it features in her book “Right Kind of Wrong”.
This mistake recounts the story of a 26-year-old chef from Guangdong, China, named Lee Kum Sheung, who accidentally left his oysters to overcook. The result was a sticky, unexpectedly delicious sauce, which eventually resulted in the creation of the globally renowned oyster sauce. This accidental creation, stemming from a simple mistake, led his family to accumulate a fortune of over 17 billion.
This example serves to underline how seemingly negative mistakes can pave the way for groundbreaking innovations and successes. Edmondson argues this is contingent the individual’s curiosity and openness to turning these mishaps into new possibilities.
Growth Mindset in Mistake Processing
Edmondson is a firm advocate of Carol Dweck's work on the concept of a growth mindset which she integrates into her own personal parenting approach. She shares a personal mistake in applying the growth mindset that prompted her to be more mindful in her interactions and praise. Based on the recommendation in Dweck's work, one should focus on the process of learning and effort rather than pra
Episode page with video, transcript, and more
My guest for Episode #234 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Amy C. Edmondson, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, renowned for her research on psychological safety over twenty years.
Named by Thinkers50 in 2021 (And again here in 2023) as the #1 Management Thinker in the world, Edmondson’s Ted Talk “How to Turn a Group of Strangers into a Team” has been viewed over three million times.
She received her PhD, AM, and AB from Harvard University. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is the author of books including The Fearless Organization, Teaming, and her latest, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well is available now.
Edmondson talks about the duality of mistakes – some that lead to massive successes and some that warrant a more mindful approach to growth and learning. Listen in as she recounts an endearing mistake from her personal life in the spectrum of Growth Mindset, discusses different types of failures and insights into how they can be reframed as opportunities for growth, exploration, and innovation.
Edmondson emphasizes the importance of Psychological Safety and the transformation from a ‘speak up' culture into a ‘listen up' culture within organizations.
Tune in today for an enlightening discussion on the fine line between reflecting and ruminating, along with Edmondson’s personal anecdotes from her writing journey.
Questions and Topics:
How do you see the connection between mistakes and failures?
Sometimes failure is caused by outside factors?
As much as I try to be positive about mistakes and failure, I don’t love the phrase “fail early, fail often” — where do you think that phrase or concept misses the mark?
Psychological safety comes up A LOT in this podcast series when we talk about a culture of learning from mistakes… how do you define it?
Different types of failures — they’re not all created equally?
“Blameworthy” vs. “Praiseworthy” failures?
Why do organizations collectively blame people more than individuals blame others?
When leaders are super negative about mistakes… how is demanding perfection or say they must punish (or saying failure is NOT an option) counterproductive?
Learning from failure is not as easy as it sounds? Reflecting without ruminating?
Mistakes in the book writing process?
Proofreading mistakes that slipped through?
Renowned Leadership Expert Amy E. Edmondson and Her Views on Psychological Safety and Failure
The Duality of Mistakes
Edmondson separates mistakes into three categories, drawing from her extensive research into the topic of failures and mistakes. These categories include examples from both her research and her personal life. Her favorite mistake to discuss lies within her research fields, and it features in her book “Right Kind of Wrong”.
This mistake recounts the story of a 26-year-old chef from Guangdong, China, named Lee Kum Sheung, who accidentally left his oysters to overcook. The result was a sticky, unexpectedly delicious sauce, which eventually resulted in the creation of the globally renowned oyster sauce. This accidental creation, stemming from a simple mistake, led his family to accumulate a fortune of over 17 billion.
This example serves to underline how seemingly negative mistakes can pave the way for groundbreaking innovations and successes. Edmondson argues this is contingent the individual’s curiosity and openness to turning these mishaps into new possibilities.
Growth Mindset in Mistake Processing
Edmondson is a firm advocate of Carol Dweck's work on the concept of a growth mindset which she integrates into her own personal parenting approach. She shares a personal mistake in applying the growth mindset that prompted her to be more mindful in her interactions and praise. Based on the recommendation in Dweck's work, one should focus on the process of learning and effort rather than pra
40 min