Books with titles like “The Wisdom of Failure” top bestseller lists and there is even a popular annual conference, FailCon, that gathers people together to study past fails.
But in spite of all the noise about how it’s ok — nay, productive — to fail, it can still be a painful and challenging experience.
So, what is the best way to bounce back?
IMF chief Christine Lagarde, in recent interview with CNN, gave a robust suggestion: “Oh, get over it. Get over it and move on.”
In fact, many women at the top of their fields say that setbacks can be a great source of strength.
CNN’s Leading Women team were curious to find out how other women recover when things don’t go their way, so we asked members of the LinkedIn Connect: Professional Women’s Network, powered by Citi for their thoughts.
Below is their collected wit and wisdom on the matter.
Valuable lessons
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Kim Ramsey, an executive coach agrees.
“I have definitely found that adversity is one of the most significant growth and development opportunities assuming the individual takes time to reflect on what was learned.
“As hard as it is to through these difficult times, reassessing and committing to moving forward will make you stronger and is a common characteristic of high potential leaders,” she writes.
Doctor Patricia L McGuire says: “I have now lived long enough to realize that failure is just part of the game–part, in fact, of the process of success; that the experience of failure is simply to know what will not work, what should not work, or what could not have worked at the time.”
She sums it up as: “Fail Well. Recover. Repeat.”
Can failing be good for your career?
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