Breaking the Silence: Why Failure Needs to Take Center Stage in Public Affairs
Failure is often the elephant in the room in public affairs work. Failure in public affairs is not just a possibility; it’s an inevitability. In a landscape as dynamic and multifaceted as public affairs, where competing interests collide and priorities shift constantly, success can never be guaranteed and certainly not sustained over time. If we delve one level deeper we also fail to get WHAT we want (a legislative outcome for example) and in HOW we tried to get it (failed meetings / events / online campaigns). This overall silence not only hampers learning and growth but also perpetuates a culture of fear and avoidance. So, why don’t we talk more about failure in public affairs, and what can we do about it?
I have failed at both the WHAT and HOW many times in my career and I expect more is to come. Even if I worked in a ‘fail fast’ culture it was still hard to talk about failure. No one likes to talk about failure. One reason for this is the fear of repercussions where in a highly competitive and scrutinized environment, admitting failure can be perceived as a sign of weakness or incompetence. No one wants to damage their reputation and/or credibility. As a result, individuals and organizations often sweep failures under the rug or shift blame rather than confront them openly. This is important for how Public Affairs is perceived and understood in organizations – and something that needs to change if we want to professionalize.
I also think that the increased use of metrics and outcomes in public affairs (that I myself champion) can marginalize discussions about failure. In a world driven by results and performance indicators, failures are seen as something to avoid because they detract from achievements and undermine confidence. So, we prioritize success and downplay or ignore failure, perpetuating a skewed narrative of progress and accomplishment. By sidelining discussions about failure, we miss out on valuable opportunities for reflection, learning, and improvement for ourselves and also our organizations. We need to learn how to frame failure in public affairs work so we better understand and better communicate what success looks like. Only this way can we gain critical insights into what went wrong, why it happened, and how similar pitfalls can be avoided in the future – and then convey this clearly to our organization. This leads to an iterative process of learning from failure and it is essential to get better at what we do. So, what can we do to break the silence surrounding failure in public affairs?
Firstly we need to cultivate a culture of psychological safety within organizations and professional networks to openly frame failures. We all need to feel empowered to speak up about our failures without fear of judgment or reprisal. Obviously, leaders play a crucial role in setting the tone and creating an environment where failure is viewed as a natural part of the learning process rather than a cause for shame or punishment.
We also need to reframe the narrative around failure in public affairs, emphasizing its role as a stepping stone to success rather than a mark of defeat. By sharing stories of failure openly and highlighting the lessons learned, we can destigmatize failure and foster a culture of resilience and perseverance.
Finally, we must institutionalize processes for capturing, analyzing, and disseminating insights from failure. This could involve conducting post-mortems, establishing knowledge-sharing platforms, and integrating lessons learned into training and development initiatives. By institutionalizing a systematic approach to learning from failure, we can ensure that mistakes are not repeated and that failures ultimately contribute to greater effectiveness and impact in public affairs.
Failure is not something to be feared or avoided in public affairs; it’s an essential ingredient for growth and success. By breaking the silence surrounding failure, fostering a culture of openness and resilience, and institutionalizing processes for learning from failure, we can harness its transformative potential and drive meaningful change in the field of public affairs.
