Let Them Fail

Leadership is an earned skill.

You can only possibly get better at leading by doing it more. And to really experience it, that means no-net leadership.

As a Scoutmaster, I am in the position of being encouraged by the organization to let the leaders do their best, and fail, in the knowledge that they will be better leaders. And as a conductor, I make it my business to make sure my students have chances to lead regularly – with or without me in the room.

It can be hard, as an established leader, to watch someone lead less effectively than you might. But the payoff for sitting on your hands and letting them fail is that they turn into leaders themselves. And whether that’s before or after they leave me, I rest confident in knowing that my former students are better leaders because I gave them a chance to fail, learn, and grow as leaders.