Experimentation Is Vital for Leadership Excellence

 

 

 

 

 

Most would say that experimentation is good because when we try new things, we can learn what works and what doesn’t.

It’s that last part that moves us from agreeing that experimentation is a good thing to – “I’m not so sure.” You see, to experiment is to risk failure, mistakes, and perhaps looking stupid.

And it is those very human worries and concerns that often keeps us from experimenting our way to success.

Case in point…

I’ve successfully conducted in-person leadership training for the past 27 years. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic forced a new client and myself to move from F2F to virtual training via the Zoom platform. It would be my first time presenting a virtual class.

I did some research and thought about how I could create a version of the F2F training in the virtual environment. Intellectually, I was good to go. But when it came time for the first virtual class, I had more trepidation than I can remember in a long time.

Why? Because experimentation can be scary.

What if I don’t do it right?

What if it doesn’t land well with the audience?

And mostly…

What if I look stupid? (I'm sure I did but I grew from it.). My go-to quote when I'm worried about looking foolish is: "Take what you do seriously, yourself lightly." 

                                                                                                                 --Ken Blanchard

There are lessons for us as individuals and leaders

As an individual…

• Recognize the gap between logic and emotion. And grant yourself some grace if you are scared to try.
• Focus on the big why. When we remind ourselves of the why we want to experiment, we help ourselves move past the fears.
• Find a cheerleader. Your cheerleader could be a coach, a friend, or anyone who will help you with the emotional challenges of the experiment.
• Start with small experiments. When you try small things, it is less scary, and you will begin building your experiment muscles.
• Let go of perfection. Remind yourself that few things in life are perfect, and in an experiment that isn’t even the goal.

As a leader…

• Remember the list above. As a leader you want to help others experiment, so each of those items helps.
• Be that cheerleader. Maybe the best thing you can do as a leader is to be the encourager of experimentation.
• Create the safety net. People don’t want to screw up at work. If you encourage experimentation but make sure people won’t fail in drastic ways, they are more likely to try.
• Manage your own expectations. Don’t hold people to a standard of excellence and success on their experiments that you might hold them to on the rest of their work.
• Be a model of experimentation. You want others to be trying new things and not over-analyzing before they try? Make sure you are experimenting too.

Experimentation is unpredictable, and we don’t know where our experiments will lead us. Yet until we try new things, we can’t grow and find the new keys to our future success – both individually and collectively. 

 

Understanding our love/hate relationship with experimentation is the first step towards us intelligently using experimentation to reach new levels of success.

 

Where would you benefit from more experimentation?

 

Check out two related posts:  

 

Stretching Outside Your Comfort Zone Is Critical to Grow as A Leader  (4 min)

 

You Don't Get to Look Good and Grow At the Same Time  ( 2 min read)

 

 

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

 

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