Harvard Business School

Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management

Author of RIGHT KIND OF WRONG

Pecos River Learning Centers

Director of Research

Buckminster Fuller Institute

Chief Engineer

I teach, write, and ruminate on organizational learning, psychological safety, leadership, and teaming in this VUCA world we all inhabit. Latest books: THE RIGHT KIND OF WRONG: The Science of Failing Well and THE FEARLESS ORGANIZATION: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth.  
I truly regret that I am unable to reply to messages sent via LinkedIn; the volume of messages overwhelms the hours in the day.

When I imagine the future of work, I see a place where we all have the freedom to #fail intelligently, where #learning is celebrated and encouraged, and where we feel empowered to speak up, trusting that our voices will be heard. 

Honored to be included amongst the impressive list of honorees for TIME's inaugural Charter 30 https://lnkd.in/eUWFtRKH

Amy Edmondson

I love these quotes (that I am pleasantly surprised I said!) from my interview with Joshua Steinfeldt, MAPP, PCC on #TheCourageousLife podcast🎙 We had an engaging and insightful conversation about #failure, #curiosity, and much more...

🎧 Listen to the full episode here! 

https://lnkd.in/gRzXGAvv

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gqmdaj7y

Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gw-bBhYu

People often ask me how they can get better at embracing fallibility, and my advice is this: Fail more often! 

One way you can build your #failure muscles is to pick up a new hobby. Hobbies present the perfect low-stakes arena in which to practice failing—they are all about fun and the stimulation of #learning rather than about achievement or making a living. Whether you're learning a new language or a new skill, trying something new in any context prepares you for risk-taking when the stakes are higher. 

Have you picked up a new hobby recently? What have you learned? 

Failure parties were popularized by Eli Lilly as a way to show appreciation for pioneering teams that failed intelligently—that is, they failed while pursuing a defined goal in new territory, and their failure brought valuable new information to the company that couldn't have been gained any other way.

Not only did these parties show appreciation and help the scientists cope with their disappointment, but they also ensured that others in the department learned about the failure to prevent repeating it—another best practice for keeping the costs of failure as small as possible.

While not all failures warrant a celebration, #IntelligentFailure is definitely worthy. 

As Dr. David Burkus said in his wonderful post (linked below): "Instead of shaking our fists at the sky, shake up a cocktail instead." 🥳

https://lnkd.in/ecRzRSxf

My time at the #Quality2024 Forum in London was filled with thought-provoking and energizing discussions among some of the most inspiring folks in #healthcare. 

Complex and basic failures—that is, preventable failures in known territory—can be catastrophic in any industry, but especially in the healthcare space. At the same time, #IntelligentFailure can result in discoveries that contribute to life-changing innovation and improvement. For this reason, conversations about #failure in healthcare, and about how to navigate it successfully, are necessary and invaluable.

Thank you, IHI and BMJ, for creating a space for people to discuss the most timely topics in healthcare and for deeming me worthy of delivering a keynote on one of my favorite topics, no less. If you didn't get a chance to watch the keynote and panel with Don Berwick and Gabrielle Matthews live, you can find the replay here: https://lnkd.in/eCp-bXsU

I started my keynote with this observation and will end this post with it as well: failure is a part of life. This is an undeniable fact. So, let's work together to learn how to approach it thoughtfully, appreciatively, and intelligently. #IntelligentFailure #RightKindofWrong #FailingWell

Failures may never be fun, but with practice using new tools and insights, they can become less painful and easier to learn from. 

Take, for example, the finding from a 1995 study that showed Olympic bronze medalists appeared happier and less likely to feel the sting of #failure than the athletes who finished second and received a silver medal. 

Why?

 The silver medalists, disappointed at not having won gold, framed their performance as a failure relative to winning gold. Those who came in third place framed their result as a #success— they earned a medal at the Olympics! They were acutely aware of how easily they might have missed the chance to stand on the Olympic podium in glory and not come home with a medal at all. They had reframed their result from a loss to a gain. 

Quote from pg. 48 of #RightKindOfWrong. Grab your copy here to learn more about strategies for #reframing failure: https://bit.ly/RKWBook

While #failure is no joke, it can be healthy to adopt an "oh well, things happen" attitude in low-stakes situations. A great reminder on any day of the year, but especially #AprilFoolsDay (I'm sure some of you have stumbled into some 'well-intentioned' blunders today🤣)

Quote from page 209 in #RightKindofWrong. Pick up a copy here: https://bit.ly/RKWBook

Remaking the Space Between Us is a timely and necessary read. Diana Smith puts forward a collection of thought-provoking essays that demonstrate the power of empathy and collective effort in building a better future.

A large part of my work around #PsychologicalSafety and #failure is driven by the desire to create environments where everyone is awarded an equal opportunity—to speak up, to fail, to experiment, to learn—and I believe the lessons in this book can help us get closer to a world in which that is possible. 

Grab a copy here: Remakingthespace.org

New research by Professor Amy Edmondson and researcher Tijs Besieux, PhD shows many employees find meetings ineffective, inefficient, or unproductive; however, unless you work in a psychologically safe environment where candor is encouraged, you're unlikely to raise your hand and speak up about what's wrong — especially if you're not the one running the meeting. They identify a set of techniques that anyone is able to use in these moments:

hbr.org • 1 min read

How to Improve a Meeting (When You're Not in Charge)

I recently picked up my colleague Michael Norton's new book #TheRitualEffect...what a fun, creative, & fresh perspective on daily life!

This Harvard Business Review article is a great teaser for how the book looks at the rituals we take part in and how they relate to our sense of meaningful work: https://lnkd.in/g6SzNZKE

Grab a copy of the book here 📚 https://lnkd.in/g2jp_7mZ

The Research-Backed Benefits of Daily Rituals

I just subscribed to the deeply insightful Diana Smith's Substack - which complements her insightful new book #RemakingTheSpaceBetweenUS 

remakingthespace.substack.com • 1 min read

Remaking the Space Between Us | Diana M. Smith | Substack

We are excited to welcome improvers from far and wide tomorrow for Day 1 of the long-awaited International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare organised and delivered by BMJ IHI .

Couldn't join us this week at #Quality2024 #London?

All keynotes will be streamed live on our website here: 

https://bit.ly/43QVGZj

#qualityimprovement #PatientSafety #HealthcareImprovement #Leadership #Quality2024 

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