If we truly want innovative, out of the box thinking and leaders who are open to change and creative thinking, then we must agree that failure is an option. People who are not afraid to fail will actually thrive and let their talents shine. The freedom to think and strategise will free them to deliver on what you recruited them for.
Successful leaders develop other successful leaders by providing the space and culture for growing talent and divergent ideas. Many times I have come across companies that have gone through all the trouble to develop or find a “great” recruit just to stifle it in a culture where fear rules the day and ideas die.
As a leader you want to know what employees have failed at lately. Their responses provide insight into not only how bold and innovative they really might be, but also into how adaptable and amenable to change they are. The greatest employees have demonstrated that they were more interested and driven by actually succeeding at great things rather than being afraid of failing.
Below are some sample “failure” questions or statements you can use in interviews or appraisals to determine how willing an individual might be to seek out and apply new/different ideas and whether he/she is comfortable enough with failure to apply continuous improvement techniques.
What have you failed at lately and what were the consequences to you and/or your team or organisation?
How did you feel when you worked on a project that did not achieve the intended results and what did you do about it?
Describe an instance where you and/or your team did not achieve intended goals and share what happened and why.
What are your thoughts about changing plans and shifting priorities after the project plan has already been considered to be set?
Under what circumstances have you applied new thinking, processes or ideas to a strategy or technique with an already proven track record of success? How did you go about soliciting the new thinking, processes or ideas?
When was the last time you used your judgment to apply a completely new or different approach or method to a project or process? What were the results and how did you feel about them?