Making mistakes surely is the best teacher, correct? Do you think so? Some say yes, some say no. CreatorOfCulture thinks that smart mistakes, in the right environment where learning and developing is a priority, is probably one of the best learning mechanisms a person, a team, a department, an organization, or a community can have. It’s when the mistakes get too costly, or mistakes aren’t allowed/supported, is when things take a downturn.
When individuals feel that it’s okay to mess up as part of the growing process, brilliant things begin to happen. In other words, it’s part of the continuous improvement philosophy that is also highly attractive and important in succeeding cultures. When one makes a mistake, they may often worry about how it looks to other people, their ego may get bruised, and some individuals have this expectation of perfection from the get-go. Well, being good at anything and possessing proficiency requires a ton of mistakes to be made up front. It’s whether those mistakes can be picked apart, debriefed after the fact, identified where the gaps were, and then use it as a mechanism for improving next time around.
Why do people feel that it’s not okay to make mistakes? Is there a fear of being labeled “not smart”? Is there a fear of being fired? Is there a fear of being judged forever? Is there a fear of reputation being hurt somehow? There is a phobia out there called, Atelophobia which is the fear of making mistakes. It’s essentially the concept of perfectionism. Licensed clinical psychologist, Menije Boduryan-Turner, PsyD says this phobia is created from experiences at a young age. In other words, environmental pressures.
Turner states, “When you grow up in an environment that is critical and rigid as well as had very little room for making mistakes and being flexible, you don’t learn how to tolerate and accept imperfection.” That is not a pretty community or family culture to grow up in. Smart mistakes are one of the best teachers, and someone with some level of Atelophobia will probably end up missing out on that opportunity. That person will never hit their full potential if not course corrected.
Atelophobia aside, let’s discuss about how learning and developing is sloppy, messy, and with some mistakes. Of course, you have heard of the concept of the “learning curve”? It, “is the timeline during which learning takes place or the rate at which an individual learns new skills or gains experience” [1] . In the mid eighteen-hundreds, psychologist Hermann Ebbinghause used the term “learning curve” in his publications/practice however it wasn’t until the 1900’s that this term was used in business, production, and supply chain[2]. It was studied and recognized by many scholars at that time that the degree, or strength, of learning reflects three factors:
- The degree of learning is associated with the number of reinforcements received during the acquisition of the particular behavior[3]. The type of reinforcements used in this case are positive. Like a reward of some kind for positive performance. There is a theory thought that as the reinforcement increases so does the performance level.
- A maximal level of performance is commonly associated with learning any skill set or behavior. In other words, once a certain level of learning is reached, no further improvement in performance is expected.
- The greatest increase in the acquisition of the skill set or behavior will occur in the initial phases of learning. There is thought that when learning approaches the ceiling performance level, there is less room for further improvement.[4]
This post is not about developing skill and the learning process specifically. However, in the first phase in learning of what was described above, learning / developing is sloppy and messy. There are mistakes that happen. Plenty of them. A culture of patience and supporting those mistakes as part of early learning process is considered wise. Mistakes can almost always be fixed! It’s when the reaction to mistakes is negative, or an organization does not provide the right environment to practice (opportunities for practice/simulation for example), people start operating “on their heels”.
CreatorOfCulture wanted to provide a few pieces of feedback regarding the second and third bullets above. First, it is extremely rare that individuals ever hit their maximum level of performance. In Peak and Sustained Performance, Mike Gauthier discusses how performance is cyclical and full of ups and downs depending on several factors. When you think about that second bullet above, please do not accept that concept 100% about how no further improvement of performance can be expected. In our opinion, that is not entirely accurate. Here’s why…
Depending on the culture that individual(s) are operating within, they may be oblivious to the fact, that performance improvement is continuous, and growth is always possible. It is rare that people ever hit their maximum capability in any effort, and often it’s the existing culture that is holding them back from growth. There are “aha” moments when changes of culture occur, and people realize that growth opportunities are endless!
With respect to the third bullet above, we agree that most of the skill development and mistakes happen in the early learning phases. It’s like a new golfer whose handicap starts high and drops significantly during the first few years of playing the sport. Getting that handicap very low (even just one stroke!) though is extremely difficult in the later stages of playing. This golf example surely holds true with the third bullet above that there is less room for improvement. However, this is also where the third bullet is limited in our opinion. Why?
A culture that embodies that “small things make a big difference” can see a huge surge in performance of the whole over a short period of time. In other words, many people together each making tiny improvements creates huge collective performance! Unfortunately, there seems to be many that think improvements end at this stage. We are here to tell you that it’s false, and that view is slightly shortsighted.
Developing at later stages of learning is more about refining which can have huge positive impact. Fine tuning personal approaches with oneself, others, and organizations/communities at large can often lead to mastery of culture. That again is why recognizing small mistakes / areas of improvement when they occur is huge to refinement.
To sum up, a culture that consistently reinforces the message of “it is okay to make mistakes as part of learning” is a higher level thinking one. This one concept is an important part of an overall culture that believes in “people and performance”.
With that being said, go fly around, make mistakes, learn, get better, we’ll see you next time!
[1] “Learning Curve.” The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology, edited by Jacqueline L. Longe, 3rd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2016, pp. 665-666
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid