Remember that kid on the playground? The one who treated a scraped knee not like a catastrophe, but like a medal of honor earned in the great war of tag? We used to wear our falls like proud battle scars. But somewhere between the monkey bars and the boardroom, we started treating failure like the plague. We want our teams to be trailblazers, but we’re terrified they might get a splinter. We want them to innovate, but God forbid they trip. If every attempt you make ends with a perfect win, I’m telling you, you need to risk deeper. It’s time we stopped wrapping our teams in bubble wrap and started handing them a machete.
As a Grammy Nominated Spoken Word Artist Sekou Andrews, I’ve learned that the most powerful spoken word poetry comes from piercing the skin, not just playing it safe. It’s a “win some, you learn some” mentality. So why not make that your culture’s new fashion craze? I’m talking about creating a safe space to fail forward. Hand out Armani gauze in the glove boxes of your sales reps. Stock Chanel splints in the desks of your C-suite. Tell your team, “Don’t come back here without lacerations!” This is the work of a true Vanguard Artist—transforming the very idea of a mistake into the intellectual capital that makes you the best in the business.
The top, leading, and most inspirational leaders get it: growth is uncomfortable. You can’t ask people to make waves and then get mad when the floor gets wet. That’s why, as a motivational poet and spoken word artist, I’m giving you permission to trade your fear for a first-aid kit filled with flair. Go on, create a budget for beautiful bruises. Because when you celebrate the stumbles, you empower the leaps. And trust me, when your team feels safe enough to fall, that’s when they’ll finally learn how to fly.
