Failing forward

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Troy Pierce
  • 821st Contingency Response Squadron

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – It is completely natural for the Air Force to incentivize compliance and conformity. We were established and gained significant achievements during the industrial era which depended on those same qualities. While this formula worked well and many standardization positions are still necessary, the speed at which information flows via the information age of the 21st century requires us to transform our perspectives and incentivize high velocity decision making over more lethargic compliance and conformity approval processes.

I believe a way to increase high-velocity decision making is by embracing failure and enabling effective feedback required to gain critical data to make better, more informed choices.

“There is no way to get better other than to first do it, however poorly you do,” said Charlie Kim, Next Jump co-chief executive officer. “So get started; go out and fail. We have become good at getting better because we are so good at failing.”

I’ll admit that I prefer to line up for the comforting lies, but the uncomfortable truth is we all fail. Those who have not had their failures noticed are at risk of becoming unfamiliar with it and could go to extreme lengths to make sure their flaws are covered, eventually creating significant moral dilemmas or lapses in judgement.

Our response to failure, either our own or others, is a defining moment that impacts our organizations’ willingness to pursue excellence and “fail forward.” The good news is that if we respond correctly, failing often provides positive and powerful outcomes. It drives conversations we wouldn’t have if everything went smoothly and encourages effective habit patterns. This is where feedback comes into play. 

It is imperative the culture we incentivize creates constant, non-threatening feedback and an understanding that respectful praises and criticisms are designed to make us all better. Without caring and direct feedback we are enabling a culture that breeds ruinous empathy, manipulating insecurity or obnoxious aggression. As Airmen, we tend to cling to every piece of feedback as an indicator of how our performance evaluations will turn out.

Our generally accepted feedback mechanisms in the Air Force are periodic and narrow at best. Commanders receive feedback via unit Defense Equal Opportunity Organizational Climate Survey annually. All Airmen are supposed to receive mid-term feedback and performance reports, but these venues could cause the receiver of this feedback to become defensive if they receive a markdown, or overly inflated if they receive the top stratification. I don’t believe as an institution we are mature enough yet. If we are letting feedback opportunities fester until our annual report, we are missing out on thousands of chances to learn and grow throughout the year.

When our Airmen step out and pursue excellence but fail, use it as an opportunity to create a future decision maker. We need them.

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