Memo to Employees: We Have Failed

In The Ellsworth American, a weekly newspaper published in Ellsworth, Maine, there was a recent eye-catching headline: “We Have Failed.” The quote was from the state senate chairman of the legislature’s transportation committee. The committee had failed, before the legislature adjourned, to come up with a way to fund the maintenance of Maine’s 4,200 miles of state roads, roads that will take their usual winter beating soon.

The failure was nothing to be proud of, but the admission of failure was refreshing. During the past 18 months or so when failure has dominated the business world, few people in charge have accepted accountability for the failure. It’s been the fault of the economy, other business sectors, politicians, even employees who had to be laid off.

It may be that a CEO or executive team has put out a memo to employees taking responsibility for the organization’s woes, but such memos are rare. And it’s too bad. Failure is a fact of life. Admitting failure is liberating.

It frees the boss from the ridiculous aura of having all the answers. It frees the boss to ask employees for help. It lays the groundwork for the freedom to work as a team to get back on track.

It also frees employees. It frees them from the fear of failure and what failure will cause. It frees them up to take risks, to make mistakes, to offer suggestions, to disagree.

Stories about the failures of some of the richest, best known, most iconic people in history are legion. Some failed over and over again until getting it right. We delight in those stories. We find hope in those stories. We keep trying because of those stories. Why, then, is it so difficult to admit failure, particularly when you’re at the top of an organization?