Adapting, Innovating, and Learning from Failure, with Zhike Lei

When disaster strikes, or when goals are simply missed, blame often lands on the bosses. From CEOs to team leaders, the buck has to stop somewhere – and when it does, action needs to be taken.

But how should leaders approach failure?

Zhike Lei says leaders in both civil society and corporations tend to try and tackle problems alone. But this is not the best approach.

Effective failure management comes from tapping into the collective intelligence of a wider team. When businesses fail, says Lei, senior staff members of an organization need to play a visible role in driving engagement with others.

In this episode of ManagementCast, Lei talks about adapting, innovating, and learning from failure, and the central role of leadership.

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Zhike Lei is Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior. She is an award-winning organizational scholar and an expert on psychological safety, team dynamics, organizational learning, error management, and patient safety.

Lei studies how organizations, teams, and employees adapt and learn in complex, time-pressured, consequence-laden environments. As a global management educator, she has taught executives and PhD, DBA, EMBA, and MBA candidates, as well as undergraduates, and has won numerous teaching awards and recognitions.