“If failure isn’t an option, then neither is success” – Seth Godin

To begin our team writing journey, we brainstormed. While collaborating on the JoyPowered™ teams content, we allowed ourselves to think broadly, yet focus on the important elements we felt contribute to our JoyPowered™ Purple Ink team. We wanted to be sure to cover the basics: What is a team? How do teams develop, grow, and truly become JoyPowered™? We also knew we wanted to handle a few tough topics. Diversity and – oh no – yes, that teams, even JoyPowered™ teams fail.

I volunteered for the chapter “Why Teams Fail,” initially thinking, “I can easily incorporate stories concerning well-known teams that have failed. I’ll write detailing why they failed and how not to follow in their footsteps. I could even come up with tips to avoid failure within your team and company.” Yet as I began to research, my perception of failure changed. It wasn’t a completely negative place to be. I found an overabundance of support that we need to fail to in turn succeed.

Letting failure define you is the problem and can be detrimental in every aspect of your life. Simply failing does not have to be the end. You will fail in work, in relationships, in decision making, but how you choose to climb out of failure is paramount.

Teams fail for numerous reasons, some quite apparent: not enough resources or funds to get the project up and going, not strategically planning the desired outcome, we brought too many people on the bus without setting clear expectations and roles. Unfortunately, this happens all the time.

How do we build a team that is not afraid to fail, yet takes appropriate measures to ensure they are bracing for a win and long-term success? We need trust, loyalty, respect, the ability to be vulnerable, and we need to leave our egos behind. I might even suggest maybe not getting an ego in the first place. We must play on our strengths and recognize that someone else may be better for the part. At the end of the day, the accomplishments of the team trump individual wins. If you can create a team that possesses these traits, the team will be JoyPowered™.