幾年前，我在一家上市公司的某個部門擔任領導，當年我們的收入與預期相差極大。我對這個結局豈止是吃驚，簡直完全手足無措，等到整件事情浮出水面，再想要扭轉局勢已經太晚了。這個錯誤影響了整家公司，導致公司收入未能達到增長預期，股價和市場價值下跌，負面新聞隨之而來。

首先，我要感謝公司當時的首席執行官——作為失敗的部門領導，我的表現當然令他失望——但他讓我繼續在那個職位上工作，并鼓勵我利用這次失敗作為學習的經歷。對此我心懷感激，我也知道不是每個人都有第二次機會。但這一次經歷為我鋪平了前往領導層的道路，幫助我的事業從那一年開始起飛。

以下是我從這次最大的失敗中學到的一些重要經驗：

保持冷靜

無論當時事情看起來多么糟糕，從長遠來看，其實絕不會如你想得那樣壞。給自己一點時間來搞清楚狀況，避免反應過度。這對你找到解決方法，繼續前進至關重要。

反思

跳出當時的情境，保持頭腦清醒，看清情勢。在我上面的例子中，我意識到自己需要后退一步來完全弄清楚發生了什么，為什么預期與現實差得這么遠。我承擔了犯錯的責任，發現自己沒有足夠投入到日常工作中。意識到自己的短處，讓我重新評估了自己每天、每周和每月應該做的事情，杜絕這個問題再次出現。

從中學習

我的孩子積極地參加休閑體育運動，我鼓勵他們把每個運動——無論有多重要——都看作對未來的操練。即便是大型籃球錦標賽的決賽，也應當把這種經歷當作掌握技能的機會。這種想法也應當被用于職場。無論是失敗還是成功，一切都是讓你更明智地應對下個挑戰的機會。

與同事交流

每一次失敗都是向職場人際圈——不論是同事還是朋友——尋求反饋和建議的好機會。這些人可能會組成你未來職業生涯中尋求實時反饋的人際網絡。

我可以坦誠地說，失敗讓我成為了更好的領袖。除了金融數據和管理，這次經歷還影響了我更多方面的領導風格，讓我幫助員工理解他們的角色如何影響公司的表現。我在那家公司待了很多年，取得了很多成功，因為這次風波讓我們得以更聰明地處理自己的業務。有時在失去之后，你才能理解，自己需要做什么才能成為贏家。(財富中文網)

本文作者Russ Becker是The Forum Corporation總裁。

譯者：嚴匡正

A few years ago I was leading a division of a publicly traded company when we missed our revenue expectations by a very large amount. To say that I was surprised by this outcome would be an understatement. I was completely blindsided and by the time the issue came to light it was already too late to rectify the situation. This error impacted the entire company; it led to missed revenue expectations, a drop in stock price and market cap valuation, and negative press.

First and foremost, I should acknowledge that the CEO of the company — while certainly disappointed in my performance as the leader of the failed division — allowed me to keep my position and encouraged me to use this bump in the road as a learning experience. For this, I am grateful and I realize that not everyone gets second chances. But this experience shaped my entire approach to leadership and attributed to my career growth in the years since. Here are a few key learnings that I took away from my biggest failure:

Stay calm

No matter how bad something may seem in the moment, in the long-term it is never as bad as you initially think. Give yourself time to clearly understand the situation and avoid overacting. This is crucial in order to arrive at a solution and tomove forward.

Reflect

Step away from the situation, clear your head, and get perspective. In my example above, I realized I needed to take a step back to fully understand what happened and why our expectations were so far from reality. I was able to take responsibility for my mistake and discovered I wasn’t immersing myself enough in the day-to-day operations. Being aware of my shortcomings allowed me to reassess what I needed to do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis in order for this to never happen again.

Learn from it

My kids are active in recreational sports and I encourage them to treat every game — no matter how important — as practice for the future. Even if it’s the final game of a major basketball tournament, they should use the experience as an opportunity to grow their skill set. This same mindset should be applied in the workplace. Everything, whether it be a failure or success, is an opportunity to get smarter for the next challenge.

Talk to peers

Experiencing a failure is the perfect time to turn to your professional network, whether it be colleagues or friends, for feedback and advice. These same people can be the network that you turn to throughout your career for real-time feedback in future situations.

I can honestly say that I emerged from my failure as a stronger leader. The experience impacted my broader leadership style beyond just numbers and management, to helping my employees understand how their roles shape the company performance. I stayed on at that company for many successful years because we got smarter about our business as a result of the situation. Sometimes by losing, you gain an understanding of what you need to do to win.