The Best Way to Get Ahead is to Fail

June 17, 2008 | Career Advice, Inspiration, Leadership, Next Generation Leadership, Now Generation Leadership

“I wasn’t going to be one of those people who died wondering what if? I would keep putting my dreams to the test – even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.”
- Alex Haley

My older counterparts will get all hyped up about the radical differences between Baby Boomers and Generation Y: our obsession with technology, global social networking, putting our entire lives out there on the web, and demanding higher wages and flexible working conditions. But there’s one thing about Generation Y that’s not so radical that I’m not really proud of. Young people are afraid to risk failure for the sake of the greater good.

It may seem counterintuitive because as young people, we’re actually expected to make mistakes: in our early careers, in romantic relationships, in pursuing educational goals, financial snafus that could send us running back home to our parents…but when it comes to making the kind of real social change we came into the nonprofit sector to be a part of, we seize up.

A few weeks ago, I spoke at the Nonprofit Congress about the need for greater individual responsibility in the nonprofit sector and the real lack of courageous leadership in many organizations. In many ways, nonprofit organizations have evolved from their founding by a passionate, courageous leader who sparked incredible change in a time of great social chaos (i.e. during the Civil Rights and Women’s movements) to simply maintaining the status quo in this age of businesslike operations and extreme diplomacy in the face of hostile political environments. In the 60s & 70s, young people played a major part of nonprofit impact, acting as radical catalysts for change. Think about the brave black college students who sat in at lunch counters in order to desegregate restaurants:

In 1960 four freshmen from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro strolled into the F. W. Woolworth store and quietly sat down at the lunch counter. They were not served, but they stayed until closing time. The next morning they came with twenty-five more students. Two weeks later similar demonstrations had spread to several cities, within a year similar peaceful demonstrations took place in over a hundred cities North and South. At Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, the students formed their own organization, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced “Snick”). The students’ bravery in the face of verbal and physical abuse led to integration in many stores even before the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Nobody really knew if their tactics would work, if nonviolence and perseverance would be successful. But everybody thought that getting arrested (i.e. failing) was worth the fight for freedom. Yet these days, I’m not sure that Generation Y believes strongly enough in any cause enough to risk failure for. We’re passionate about ending homelessness, fighting poverty, gaining greater rights for the disenfranchised, and we are getting more involved in politics. But we’re cautious of rocking the boat within our organizations when we have ideas that could accelerate change. At the Congress, I also talked about our opportunity to take advantage of innovative ideas from young people. I think we have incredible new approaches to solving problems, but most of the time we don’t speak up to share them with our big bosses, our intimidating boards, or the surrounding community. I hate to say it, but after traveling this year and speaking to hundreds of young people through this blog about leadership, one of our main challenges is not that Baby Boomers are holding us back, but that we are not strong enough to make our voices heard. Instead we shut up and do as we’re told because we’re afraid we won’t get promoted or we won’t get a good recommendation when we leave, or that people just won’t like us anymore.

Now I’m not bashing my peers, I’m just sharing my observations. I’ve found that when most young people say they want to build their leadership skills,what they are really asking is for someone to help them be courageous enough to speak up for what they think is right. And I think that is the most distinguishing characteristic of leadership: your willingness to try when there’s a very real possibility that you could fail. We forget that some of our most celebrated leaders failed many, many times before they got it right.

I’ve struggled with this one a lot lately. I’m a proud member of Gen Y, an overachiever, and so passionate about the change I want to make in this sector. But I’ve always thought that if I prepared long enough, or studied as hard as I could, or got as many bullets on my resume as as possible, I would have “made it” and everything would work itself out. I’m finding that is not the case. All the education and preparation in the world doesn’t mean a thing unless you’re brave enough to use it when it really matters to say what needs to be said or to do what needs to be done. As you all know, I am in this nonprofit sector because I believe in the power of what we can all do together to change this world. But I don’t think it benefits anyone for me to follow the path already laid out. I could just do my job as others tell me to and probably move up in this field after getting years of experience in…just doing my job. But I don’t want to just do my job, I want to make a difference. And sometimes that means doing things outside of your job description or quitting your job altogether if your organization is not making any impact with its work.

I heard on the radio recently a quote from one of the DJs: “Experience is what you get when things don’t turn out the way you want them to.” But how many times have I, have you, obsessed over getting it just right, and being crushed when it all goes to shit? That happened to me in Minnesota last week. My co-presenter and I had planned a great session for 400 leaders, and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted. But I got the chance to try out some of my ideas. Some worked the way I wanted them to, and some didn’t. At first I was upset that some folks just didn’t “get it”. After a year, I’m still learning how to improve my speaking skills to get a clear message across to crowds of all ages around issues that are pretty touchy for our sector. So sometimes I will not make a slam dunk. But each time I will learn from it.

Cameron Schaefer makes a great case for stacking up failures in order to gain experience. Because I may not have 20 years of working, speaking, leading in the nonprofit sector, but I’m learning from each time I fail. And honestly, I don’t think there’s any other way to find out what works. In many ways, I’m trying to become the kind of leader I can respect – one who is not afraid to step out on a limb given their own values and beliefs.

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Tags: Career Advice, Generation Y, Inspiration, Leadership

Rosetta Thurman

Thanks for your suggestions Bill & vcm24 - having the space to learn, fail and grow is important for folks to try out their ideas.

To the first anon - Of course I'm not saying we should purposely make mistakes that could cost someone's life...but that we should try new ideas that could be well-received or not. I'm thinking of, in health, when adinistrators think of new ways to do things that would help the patients or ease their experience...people who invent new ways to make their organizations more effective...speaking out with novel ideas that at first may soud crazy to most.

Elisa - you're right that it's not all generational. I feel though, that since Gen Y hasn't had that long work/life experience to draw from, we look at those who have "made it" and we tend to play it safe thinking that will get us the success we want. Not realizing that our older colleagues have often had to take some risk to achieve the social gains they worked so hard for.

To the second anon- thanks so much for this feedback! I'm so used to 'speaking to the choir', I tend to forget the different communication styles of others who haven't drunk the kool-aid yet. And that is where I need to grow. My next stretch assignment...
Anonymous

Do you think the issue of folks "not getting" what you are saying stems from them not being open to change or how you frame the solution or change that needs to happen?

I personally think it is super important to understand the audience you are speaking to, and frame the issue as well as propose solutions in ways the audience will understand and be receptive to. That will make all the difference.

As a gen y, I can say I love ya Rosetta and what you are trying to do, as well as I wish you the best of success, but when I heard you speak, I think in your eagerness to create change you spoke at people in the audience and not to them--in their place--where they were at.

It's not easy what you are doing, but keep on going, you are making great strides for young nonprofit professionals.
Elisa

Rosetta,
Great post as usual. I actually think its not just young people who are afraid to fail--I think its most people. It is ALWAYS easier to just stick with what you've always done, even if you're expecting different results each time you do it.
Driving toward the question of young people specifically: it doesn't help that our educational system and the organizations we work in don't encourage us to do this kind of try and fail experimentation. I don't know about anyone else, but where I went to school, towing the line was going to get you farther all the time. Then you transition to a work place that is the same way and it becomes in your best interest (at least in terms of staying 'comfortable') to again tow the line.
But, as you noted, I've always found greater satisfaction and growth in the times that I did something crazy or unusual, whether I succeeded or failed.
Anonymous

Does this apply to police, emergency medicine, combat or other areas that have lives on the line? Do such failures have any side benefits when they end up killing people? I think not. I think learning from failure at the expense the lives of others is definitely WAY too costly.
vcm4

I think that the lack of action stems from both fear of failure and a need to reevaluate an approach to problems. Our generation has spent the majority of our lives being that ambitious overachiever, all about exceeding expectations that were clearly set out for us. I think when looking at broader and more complex problems like homelessness and health care, it's going to take more than knowing how to get good grades. I think once we get past the initial fear, there are great things ahead. Meanwhile, testing boundaries through stretch assignments are a great way to begin preparation for the road ahead.
Bill Huddleston, CFC Expert

Workplace Giving - The Best Place to Fail (and learn).

One of the most important leadership skills to develop is the art of listening. Where can you talk to hundreds of people in your community and learn to gauge their reaction to what you are saying, and more importantly, learn how to listen to what they are saying to you -- whether they are Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, etc.-- they are first and foremost people.

Workplace giving campaigns provide unique opportunities to meet many people, who are members of your community, to find out what is on their mind, (not on yours).

Bill Huddleston, CFC Expert

The article below highlights some
of the benefits available to people who want to become non-profit leaders, if they decide to make the personal investment in learning, developing and practicing their skills.

Nonprofit Leadership Development-Where is the best place to practice leadership skills?

By Bill Huddleston, CFC Expert

Did you learn to swim by reading a book?

The answer of course is no, even if you did read about the different strokes, breathing methods and different types of kicks. Sooner or later, you actually had to get into the water.

In the realm of leadership development, the same principle applies. You can take very valuable and informative courses, you can read books, articles and blogs about the subject and talk to people as well as observe leaders in action. You can participate in valuable organizations that teach you and give you some experiential opportunities (such as Toastmasters International – which I highly recommend). To actually develop your leadership skills you have to lead people.

So where can you get practical experience in actually doing this? Eli Manning and Peyton Manning did not play their first football game in the Superbowl; Yo Yo Ma did not have his first concert at Carnegie Hall.

Even the best in the world find a good place to practice before the performance, and they devote the time and energy necessary to developing their skills before they go on stage whatever the specific type of stage is, including leadership in the non-profit sector.

Most leadership experts would agree that these skills are fundamental for all leaders:

•Interpersonal skills (including Team Building).
•Oral communication
•Written Communication
•Continual Learning
•Integrity/Honesty

I would add that project management principles and skills are necessary for success in the 21st Century.

In the non-profit sector, whether you are an emerging leader eager to develop your own skills, or someone responsible for the leadership development program of your organization, there exists a unique opportunity to develop these skills, by participating in workplace giving campaigns, such as the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), Americas Charities Campaigns, and United Way campaigns, etc.

Workplace giving is a unique method of fundraising within the non-profit sector, and many think of it only in terms of fundraising. But workplace giving campaigns have unique benefits – which I call “Hidden Treasures.”

Briefly, in workplace giving, the actual solicitations are performed by the employees of the organization, during the workday, hence the name “workplace giving.”
Some of the other “Hidden Treasures” of workplace giving campaigns include conducting inexpensive market research, leverage of your development efforts, and exposure to a much wider audience than is possible on your own, plus developing multiple year revenue streams.

However, the focus of this article is leadership development, and in workplace giving campaigns there are campaign events known as “charity fairs.”

In a charity fair, selected charities from the workplace giving catalog are invited to come to the organization’s offices, and staff a table with their representatives, give out their materials, and answer any questions that the potential donors might ask.

One of the biggest “hidden treasures” of workplace giving campaigns is that they can be the ideal “practice field” for emerging non-profit leaders.

Charity fairs are one of the best leadership development opportunities that exist in the non-profit world. Non-profits that have learned how to integrate workplace giving campaigns into their overall leadership development efforts can use them to provide low risk, high value opportunities to their staff in a number of areas, including project management, public speaking, and team building.

For example, the skills that can be developed and practiced through participation in charity fairs include:

Oral Communication - public speaking skills –you can practice your “elevator speech” dozens of times in the course of a campaign.

Team Building - the non-profit action officer can get practical experience in creating and leading a team, whether they are paid staff or volunteers.

Listening Skills – the non-profit team will have the opportunity to listen to hundreds of people in your community – what are they saying, what’s most important to them, etc. These are your potential donors and supporters – does your mission resonate with them, are they aware of your organization, etc.?

Written Communication – there are multiple opportunities to develop one’s writing ranging from simple memos to an analysis of the comments from the members of the community that were made at the charity fairs that is prepared for the executive and board leadership.

The paradox of workplace giving programs is that precisely because they are not a high risk or high cost program they can be an ideal “practice field or rehearsal hall” for leadership development.

No one is going to “blow” a major gift solicitation at a charity fair, but the future leader can gain experience in “reading people.”

To learn more about the world’s largest workplace giving campaign, the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), please go to the www.cfcfundraising website and request your copy of my free report about the CFC, which includes a brief description of how to apply for inclusion in America’s largest workplace giving campaign, the CFC.

Bill Huddleston, CFC Expert
MPA in Nonprofit Management
1-703-560-1825
BillHuddleston@verizon.net
www.cfcfundraising.com
Blog: www.cfctreasures.wordpress.com