Failure bruises the ego, that metaphorical seat of our self-esteem and self-importance. When we fail, we feel threatened—and that sense of threat can trigger a fight-or-flight response.

 

“Fight” in the context of failure looks like wholesale dismissal of the value of the task, or criticism of the people involved or the unfairness of the situation you faced. However, “flight” might be the more common response to failure. When we flee failure, we disengage our attention from the task that threatens our sense of ourselves as effective people.

 

How do we make failure less threatening to the ego? Research offers a few suggestions...

How to Learn From Your Failures

Research suggests that we need to overcome some emotional and cognitive barriers if we’re to learn from our defeats... (READ)

 

Have CEOs Reached the Boiling Point?

These days bosses are encouraged to be more Ted Lasso than Don Draper... (READ)

 

Want to Reduce Unwanted Team Conflict,
Make it Easier to Talk About Team Accountability

Keep the focus on what you have observed, not what you think their behavior means... (READ)

 

Even in a recession, culture may still be king

Notably, job satisfaction was highest among job switchers, who reported higher satisfaction... (READ)

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