Back in 1957, two engineers invented a textured wallpaper they were sure would become a big hit. Instead, it flopped. After some modest success repurposing it as an insulation for greenhouses, their failures became blessings in disguise, forever altering the history of packing and shipping worldwide, while de-stressing millions.
That’s because that failed wallpaper became Bubble Wrap, but only through its inventors’ perseverance and creativity. Great leaders learn to recognize and maximize such opportunities. Here are 5 times leadership problems can be blessings in disguise.
1. When a Person You Hired Doesn’t Work Out
No leader hires perfectly, regardless of screening methods, interview questions, and assessments. Statistically, it’s inevitable that you’re going to hire someone who falls short in culture, temperament, or skills. It’s frustrating for everyone involved. But when you (or they) realize it and move on, it’s truly a blessing, because it’s neither fair nor helpful to have the wrong person in the wrong position, unable to succeed personally or professionally. He or she deserves to find a role in which he or she can thrive, and your team thrives best when the people on it can flourish in what they’re assigned to do.
2. When a Plan Falls Through
Leaders often become personally, and sometimes financially, invested in strategic and operational plans, and it can be terribly disappointing or costly when a plan falls apart. The blessing in disguise is that a failed plan clears mental and organizational space for something better you are meant to do in that season. The key is to pivot to find out what that is.
3. When Goals Aren’t Met
Goals are critical to leaders in order to measure success. Falling short of those goals sometimes indicates weaknesses in personnel, environment, programs, or products. But unmet goals can also bless a leader with an opportunity to evaluate why a team fell short of meeting them or to create all new goals. It could be that those unmet goals reveal operational or systemic problems that have to be addressed for ultimate success.
4. When You Get Negative Feedback
I heard years ago the idea that every complaint is a gift from those your organization serves, whether customers, donors, or program participants. The blessing of negative feedback is it’s an opportunity to evaluate what you do and how you do it. It might sting, but if you can hear it without being defensive, you’re able to learn what the people you serve really need, which helps you to better meet that need.
5. When You Fail
History is full of stories of successes born out of repeated failure. Perseverance and humility help a leader to transform failure into fuel, motivating the search for improvement, for the recipe that will ultimately bring success. The scientific method, the resolve needed for trial and error—these are examples of how failure and success are linked. That’s why Bill Gates is reported to have said that “it’s fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” That’s the mentality you need to recognize blessings in disguise.
What’s a blessing in disguise you’ve received, professionally or personally? Share in a comment.
