Embracing Failure: Lessons for Growth & Social Good
Failure isn’t a topic that social purpose organizations often explore publicly, but it’s an essential one.
The Good Growth Company hosted a live session to tackle this with Jessica Lee, a Fail Forward facilitator and Learning Design Manager at Venture for Canada. Jessica’s approach to failure is rooted in storytelling and practical strategies, tailored for organizations that work under tight resources and public scrutiny.
In social purpose work, failure can feel more personal and high-stakes due to the vulnerable populations served and the funding structures that demand proof of impact. Jessica opened the session by addressing the emotional weight of failure. She explained that building a healthier relationship with failure starts with understanding our own reactions and creating spaces for transparency and learning.
“Failure is not the end, but an invitation to change.”
We’ve included a recap of the session below, which focused on redefining failure, cultivating psychological safety, and implementing practical steps for individuals and teams to use failure as a tool for growth.
The 10 Things You Need to Know About Failure
Failure Is Defined by Your Relationship With It
Jessica encouraged participants to reflect on their feelings about failure, noting that fear of failure often stems from its perceived impact on self-worth. By redefining failure as a learning opportunity, we can approach it more constructively.Start With Storytelling
Sharing stories of failure helps normalize it and builds trust within teams. Jessica suggested exercises to reflect on and extract lessons from past failures, creating a culture of openness.Be Gentle With Yourself
Recognize that failure is inevitable and perfection isn’t the goal. Self-compassion enables leaders to lead by example and create space for their teams to learn and grow.Don’t Just Fail Fast — Fail Thoughtfully
The “fail fast” mantra from startup culture doesn’t always translate to the nonprofit world. Jessica emphasized the importance of learning from failure rather than rushing past it.Cultivate Psychological Safety
Creating environments where team members feel safe to admit mistakes and ask questions without fear of judgment is crucial. Jessica shared that fostering this takes time and consistent effort.Lead With Vulnerability
Leadership sets the tone. When leaders share their own failures and lessons learned, it normalizes transparency and encourages others to do the same.Respond Productively to Failure
Jessica outlined a “gratitude-reassurance-process” framework for responding to failures shared by team members. Thank them for sharing, reassure them about their value, and work together to analyze and address the issue.Use Reflection Questions
Simple prompts like “What went wrong?” and “What can we do differently?” can help teams move beyond blame and focus on actionable improvements.Frame Failure as a Learning Problem
Reframe failures as opportunities to innovate. For instance, a challenge in achieving fundraising goals can become “How might we better engage donors?”Focus on What’s Within Your Control
Some failures are outside your organization’s control, such as funding constraints. By focusing on internal processes and celebrating incremental successes, teams can maintain morale and resilience.
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Participant Insights
Our participants shared valuable insights during the session. One attendee highlighted the use of a “Crunchy Bits” framework—a practice of dedicating time in one-on-one meetings to discuss challenges openly. Another noted the importance of revisiting foundational tools like the RACI framework to ensure accountability and continuous learning.
Jessica also addressed audience questions, offering advice such as:
Normalizing Failure: Storytelling and reflective practices are powerful tools to build resilience and acceptance within teams. Sharing stories openly can normalize failure and encourage learning.
Moving Past Failure Without Losing Confidence: Focus on past evidence of success to rebuild confidence. Reflecting on previous achievements can help overcome self-doubt and propel forward action.
Fostering Resilience in Teams After Organizational Setbacks: Transparency and role modelling are critical. Openly discussing setbacks, their impacts, and the steps to move forward builds trust and a culture of learning.
Admitting Failures to Boards or Stakeholders: Frame failures as opportunities for learning and improvement. Aligning on success metrics ensures a shared understanding of goals and setbacks.
Dealing With Funding-Related Failures: For organizations struggling with long-term funding challenges, focus on refining internal processes and demonstrating impact incrementally while recognizing factors outside of control.
What’s next?
Failure is a natural and necessary part of growth. By embracing it with humility, compassion, and intentional strategies, social purpose organizations can foster innovation and resilience. Our challenge to you is to reflect on a personal or organizational failure and extract actionable lessons from it.
Failure, when approached thoughtfully, can be one of the greatest catalysts for progress.
Consider exploring resources like Fail Forward’s tools for building a healthy failure culture—an essential investment for any organization dedicated to social good.
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