A GUIDE TO DEAL WITH FAILURE IN YOUR CAREER

In the workplace, this phenomenon is especially evident when it involves underperformance and failure. An outcome that an employee regards as satisfactory could also be seen by his boss as entirely unacceptable. When a project is an unequivocal flop, colleagues disagree over the explanations why. These reactions, and their effect on workplace relationships, often become more problematic than the first event. As conclusion, how people answer feedback is of great importance to executives and organizations and maybe a major determinant of career success.

EXAMPLE: Consider the case of a drug company seeking FDA approval for a replacement use of an existing drug. (Some details have been changed to protect client confidentiality.) Wendy, a talented researcher, was put in charge of the large-scale data analysis required to file an application. She considered several path and favored the one she thought best balanced the necessity for accuracy and comprehensiveness with the imperative to finish the work quickly and on budget. Her boss, George—the company’s head statistician—agreed with the plan, and together they presented it to the vice chairman of medical affairs, Don. Although Don would have liked a more thorough approach, he recognized that it might be costlier, and he signed off on the advice.

After months of labor the analysis did not demonstrate the efficacy of the drug for the new use, and therefore the application to the FDA had to be scrapped. Reactions varied. Don blamed the statistics department, and particularly George, for recommending the approach it had taken. George didn’t think that he and his team were guilty, and he was angry with Don for allowing financial pressures to influence their choice within the first place. The two men struggled to work together. Wendy, meanwhile, felt she had personally fallen short and commenced having trouble that specialize in her other assignments.

How could three people have such different perspective of the same situation?

A Matter of Type : Personality psychology provides a research-based behavioral science structure for identifying and analyzing how people respond to failure and assign blame. Using data on several hundred thousand managers from every industry sector, we’ve identified 11 personality types likely to possess dysfunctional reactions to failure. For example, there’s the Skeptical type, who is very smart about people and office politics but overly sensitive to review and always on the lookout for falseness; the Bold type, who thinks in grandiose terms, is usually in error but never unsure, and refuses to acknowledge his mistakes, which then snowball; and therefore the Diligent type, who is hardworking and detail oriented, with very high standards for herself et al., but also a micromanaging compulsive who infantilizes and alienates subordinates. These types mean roughly 70% of the U.S. population

How to Influence Others: The chief of staff at an investment company had an extrapunitive manager, a Cautious type, who was highly successful and widely respected within the industry but completely tired of personal improvement. Like the CTO described earlier, he gave little direction to his employees then snapped at them once they did not meet his deadlines or expectations. Although the chief of staff wasn’t herself a victim of his outbursts, she sympathized with the junior executives who were. She identified one area of constant contention: questions on the way to classify investments. The boss typically told staff members to “figure it out,” and therefore the time they spent doing so often led to delays in their analyses. She came up with an answer (forming a committee to make guidelines, which would then go to the manager for approval) and waited for the right time—when he was in a positive atmosphere and not too busy—to present it. He agreed, the committee was chosen, and things went more fluently. The chief of staff had helped her colleagues and guarded her extrapunitive boss from himself.

It’s also possible to constructively influence people that have impunitive and intropunitive tendencies. Rather than blaming his new COO publicly and making him defensive, the CEO at the health care nonprofit gave him supportive coaching. At the drug company, George helped Wendy see the broader organizational context for the drug application’s failure.

Handling failure and blame the proper way is vital to managerial success. We believe the taxonomy we’ve presented won’t only assist you see your own role and responsibilities more clearly but also assist you better understand the perceptions of others. And we hope this data will enable you to approach failure with an open mind, react thereto during a balanced and strategic way, and, most vital, learn and help others learn from it. As much as we attempt to steer beyond failure, sometimes we run right into it. Even the most successful people in the world weren’t exempt from difficulties and setbacks. The fact is – nobody likes to fail but failure, however, is inevitable. It’s important to bear in mind is that what matters more than the failure is how you handle it and move on. 

Chances are that if you live long enough, you will come across misfortunes and failures. According to research, if you are below 30 years of age, there is a 90% probability of getting sacked sometime in the next 20 years. So, it’s imperative to remember that failure is a standard part of life. Just think about it as an opportunity to learn something new and the initial step on the road to success. Whether you’re an entrepreneur up against the closure of your business or you’re an employee faced with shortcomings in your career, here’s how to save your career from the verge of failure.

Ways to Deal With Failure in Your Career:

As much as we attempt to steer beyond failure, sometimes we run right into it. Even the most successful people in the world weren’t exempt from difficulties and setbacks. The fact is – nobody likes to fail but failure, however, is inevitable. It’s important to bear in mind is that what matters more than the failure is how you handle it and move on. 

Chances are that if you live long enough, you will come across misfortunes and failures. According to research, if you are below 30 years of age, there is a 90% probability of getting sacked sometime in the next 20 years. So, it’s imperative to remember that failure is a standard part of life. Just think about it as an opportunity to learn something new and the initial step on the road to success.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur up against the closure of your business or you’re an employee faced with shortcomings in your career, here’s how to save your career from the verge of failure.

1. Recognize When There is Little Chance of Success:  It sounds gloomy, but it’s an inevitable reality. It is essential to know when to give in. Allocate a time frame to either make things better or accept defeat. When you’re failing at something, it’s better not to keep chucking in your strength and finances into it for the sake of tenacity or dedication. You need to know when to bring it to an end.
2. Take Control and Own Up to Mistakes You Made: Take control of your situation by owning up to it so it doesn’t control you. Acknowledge that it happened and it felt bad but you can’t change the past. Instead of criticizing outwardl factors like bad management and poor timings, own up to the part you played in it. Admit that you need to change yourself to progress in your career and move on.
3. Learn From Those Who Endured:    A lot of successful businesspeople have overcome a setback of some sort in their career and they know the significance of moving on after failure. Sony began by manufacturing electric rice cookers that burned the rice. Evan Williams established Twitter after his podcast directory Odeo was rendered obsolete by the launch of iTunes. The first two car companies founded by Henry Ford failed, leaving him bankrupt.
4. Step Outside Your Comfort area and Try New Things: Try to reframe your setbacks and see them as turning points in your career. If frequently doing things in the same fashion has not gotten you anywhere then it might be time to try something new and daring. Identify new paths and see where they lead you.
5. Think About Pursuing Further Education: At times, we stop growing as professionals and in all honesty might even regress a bit. But as you try new pathway, you may realize that you need further expertise and knowledge to pace in your career. Moreover, an outside expert may help excite you to develop new skills. Learn that you don’t have to get a formal degree from an institute. Instead, you can always go for short-term courses, certificate programs, seminars, or online programs.
6. Consider Becoming an Entrepreneur: If you feel like you are stuck in a role where your skills are not being properly availed then consider starting a side business like a social media or blogging network. You can achieve a more fulfilled position and – you never know – it might lead to a successful startup that eventually replaces your company employment.
7. Invest in Social Media: Growing your online community can result in clients coming to you instead of you searching for clients. People can begin to seek you out to talk about latest opportunities. Your online action can result in expanding business for your company. Once you stop blaming external elements for downfalls in your career and take control of it, only then will you feel appreciated and accomplished.

Learn that when it comes to your career, the grass is as green as you make it.

Submitted By: Bikash Kumar| Manish Sinha
(PGDM Batch 2019-21)