Here's how you can leverage others' failures to advance your career.

When something has gone terribly bad, don’t just focus on the final mistake. Learn from the whole process, not just the outcome. When someone messes up, take a step back and study the entire process with a curious mindset. Look for other potential issues, communication breakdowns, or external factors that might have influenced the process or initiated the failure. Use tools like "5 Whys'' or fishbone diagrams to find the root causes of failure. Memorize and apply what you learn to improve your decision-making, communication, and planning. All this will ultimately help you avoid future failures and make better choices overall.

Become a Learn-it-All instead of a Know-it-All. I’ve focused more of my time on learning what approaches have worked so that I can embody those traits. But it is just as valuable to learn what hasn’t worked and what to avoid. Be cautious not to be become the person who sees a past failure and thinks something that has previously failed will never work in the future. There are many variables at play and, if there are meaningful differences in the landscape then a similar approach may work this time around.

Leveraging others' failures to advance your career requires active learning. When someone fails, take the time to analyze the situation—what went wrong, why it happened, and what could have been done differently. Engage in discussions about these failures with peers and mentors to gain diverse perspectives. Attend post-mortem meetings and review case studies that highlight critical missteps. By understanding the root causes of others' failures, you can avoid similar pitfalls and implement strategies that enhance your own decision-making and resilience in challenging situations.

Reflecting deeply on others' failures is crucial for personal growth and career advancement. After analyzing the failures, spend time contemplating the underlying factors and your reactions to them. Consider how you might have handled the situation differently and what lessons can be applied to your own career. Journaling your thoughts or discussing them with a mentor can provide valuable insights. This reflection helps internalize the lessons learned, ensuring you're better prepared to navigate similar challenges and make informed, strategic decisions in your professional journey.

Having analyzed a failure, run it like a movie or on simulation platform to confirm & pinpoint the cause of failure. Now from the point when it was all okay, run the movie and see where you should have pitched the change (usually decision) not leading to a failure. such opportunities are golden opportunities to learn at other's cost, as each failures costs in terms of resources & reputations. thus one can master problem solving skills which are like peeling onions to locate the key issue. thus, learning accumulated adds to own experience and is asset for taking decisions in future in real time on real issues. Accident investigation demand a extremely high skill and support system. It is interesting to watch air accident reviews on TV

Failure occur on account of lack or communication between the team members, appreciating even other's roles and responsibilities. Another form of communication failures is understanding Standard operating procedures ( SOP) , Safety instructions, following manuals of OEM and using right tools & jigs. Having understood this as leader one has to constantly ascertain that such lapses are not present . He needs to constantly communicate with team on this aspects and learnings from other's experience. It may not be out of place for an organization to publish monthly or quarterly digest of failures encountered by groups & their findings. Even they may be discussed in meetings for wide dissemination of information

Here are steps to enhance communication skills and prevent failures: Reflect on Communication Breakdowns: Analyze past failures in others to identify common communication pitfalls. Clarify Your Vision: Clearly articulate your goals and expectations to avoid misunderstandings. Active Listening: Listen attentively to others' perspectives and feedback to ensure mutual understanding. Seek Feedback: Encourage open communication where team members feel comfortable providing input. Continuous Improvement: Regularly evaluate and refine your communication strategies to adapt to evolving situations.

Resilience may seem like a trendy term, but in reality, it's a guiding principle that leaders depend on to deal with setbacks. While we all wish to avoid failures, they are a natural part of the leadership journey. That being said, the ability to recover and refocus after facing obstacles is a skill that can be developed, and learning about resilience can help leaders better understand how to fail and learn from it. Building resilience involves confronting challenges directly, communicating openly, and finding a clear path forward despite the challenge at hand.

Com frequência utilizo os casos e histórias de fracasso (também de sucesso) nas minhas mentorias. Falar de acontecimentos reais facilita o aprendizado de uma habilidade que está sendo trabalhada na mentoria. Além disso, relatar uma história/acontecimento deixa mais claro e mais fácil a compreensão do que estamos tratando na mentoria, ao invés de falar de um conceito ou de algo abstrato. Também gera pertencimento, produzindo um sentimento de outros passaram pelo mesmo caminho de amadurecimento.

It was late afternoon as I was walking back to my squadron, and saw a helicopterbeing undergoing ground run cum hover check after scheduled maintenance. suddenly I saw the helo to bank on left side , which pilot controlled and prevented either of rotors to have touched ground. soon noticed that left ( port) wheel had come out. meanwhile pilot switched off and cleared the aircraft. Subsequently, a joint accident investigation (failure) team attributed the cause of accident as a circlip which holds or locks the wheel was fitted in reverse direction . The circlip has two sides, plain and spherical . While fitment of circlip, it should be offered spherical side outwardly on wheel which is easy & foolproof . Great learning as young Engineer

As long as you are learning without judging then you've essentially created some shortcuts for yourself. It's a rare luxury to learn from the mistakes of others without having to experience it yourself.