ManagementCast by IMD - How to manage emotions when facing defeat, with Zhike Lei

How to manage emotions when facing defeat, with Zhike Lei

01/25/24 • 23 min

Experimentation can bring many benefits in the workplace. New products, cost-saving efficiencies, and profits are often the result of new and progressive ways of thinking. But having the confidence to try new methods comes with risks. Often we must fail on our way to success, and that failure can give rise to fear.

Many fear admitting mistakes, says Zhike Lei, due to shame, or the possibility of losing their position. That in turn leads teams to avoid innovation, growth, and eventually success.

So how can we lead and achieve in the face of failure?

Lei suggests managers the world over need to compensate for their negative biases and those of their team members by fostering an open and trusting environment. In her second appearance on ManagementCast, she discusses how to create a failure-positive workplace and the central role of fear in our psyche.

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Zhike Lei is Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior. She is an award-winning organizational scholar and an expert on psychological safety, team dynamics, organizational learning, error management, and patient safety.

Lei studies how organizations, teams, and employees adapt and learn in complex, time-pressured, consequence-laden environments. As a global management educator, she has taught executives and PhD, DBA, EMBA, and MBA candidates, as well as undergraduates, and has won numerous teaching awards and recognitions.

Find out more about IMD at imd.org

Many fear admitting mistakes, says Zhike Lei, due to shame, or the possibility of losing their position. That in turn leads teams to avoid innovation, growth, and eventually success.

So how can we lead and achieve in the face of failure?

*****

Find out more about IMD at imd.org

Previous Episode

Understanding failure, with Zhike Lei

World-beating organizations are always striving for success, but sometimes even the most dedicated teams fall short. Companies miss their sales goals, lose out on funding rounds, and have PR disasters.

Failure, in short, is a natural part of life, and how firms cope with it is of vital importance.

Zhike Lei says this may seem obvious, but in practice, many are unable to meet failure in productive ways. They don't see it as the opportunity it is: the chance to give and receive feedback and to innovate and change for the better.

Over four episodes, Lei will take ManagementCast listeners through that journey, and explain how to turn failure into success.

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Find out more about IMD at imd.org

Next Episode

Adapting, Innovating and Learning from Failure, with Zhike Lei

When disaster strikes, or when goals are simply missed, blame often lands on the bosses. From CEOs to team leaders the buck has to stop somewhere, and when it does, action needs to be taken.

But how should leaders approach failure?

Zhike Lei says leaders in both civil society and corporations tend to try and tackle problems alone. But this is not the best approach.

Effective failure management comes from tapping into the collective intelligence of a wider team. When businesses fail, says Lei, senior staff members of an organization need to play a visible role in driving engagement with others.

In this episode of ManagementCast, Professor Lei talks about adapting, innovating, and learning from failure, and the central role of leadership.

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Find out more about IMD at imd.org