How Failure Upped My Leadership Game In Real-Time — 5 Lessons
Tears, heavy emotions, and leaning on my mentor, friends, and family for support…
… These were the last things I expected to experience on the big day of my latest webinar launch.
A launch I prepared for to the tee, hired a new marketer for help with, and influenced the sh** out of on social media.
Ok. That last part is debatable.
I’m no influencer, but I sure did a heck of a lot of IG reels to promote attendance for the Live launch. I was thrilled when I got a whopping 114 sign-ups!
And when the big day arrived, it felt like it was all for naught. A mere 12 people were in the room.
Can I get a whomp whomp?
As engaged and excited as we all were, I couldn’t help but feel majorly disappointed.
After the event, I came to find out I’d made a tech error which led to the vast majority of the signups not receiving the email containing the webinar link. Most people simply couldn’t join the Live.
The tears came soon after. But so did a major elevation of my leadership game. Here’s how.
From Tears to Resilience
I’m human.
I cried for a couple of hours when I realized the huge mistake. Why? Because I had put SO MUCH into this launch!
I truly enjoy giving presentations and hosting webinars for people because I love interacting and engaging with my community.
Lesson 1 — Humanity and Resilience:
So, I allowed myself to be human, feeling the full range of emotions from tears to laughter.
This moment of vulnerability and the subsequent shift to finding humour in my situation reflected my belief in the power of emotional intelligence and resilience.
It's a practical example of bouncing back, embracing one’s emotions, and moving forward with renewed confidence and strength. Self-leadership for the win.
From Artistic Joke to Creative Reset and Self-Reflection
I had doodled every person’s name who registered over the two weeks leading up to the Live launch. I uploaded a timelapse video on Instagram for each new name who signed up.
This was a creative activity I built into my days as a way to reset — a practice I promote in my Kick-Ass Leadership Course and Community.
When I realized the issue with the email sequence, and while crying, I looked up at the corkboard of doodles and burst out laughing!
It was just so ironically poetic!
Lesson 2 — Creative Reset and Self-Reflection:
Creating doodles for each registrant was my way of integrating creativity into my routine, serving as a reset mechanism.
When I found myself laughing at these doodles amidst my disappointment, it highlighted to me the importance of personal rituals to overcome challenges — a key aspect of self-leadership I advocate for.
I certainly didn’t expect this particular leadership ritual to alleviate my heavy emotions during a tough time.
But there’s nothing like wasted creativity!
And you can best believe I’ll be putting the names in alphabetical order to re-purpose them for a future launch. Talk about being better prepared thanks to major failure!
Reaching Out And Appreciation Of My Community
While I was upset by my mistake, I reached out to friends, my mentor, texted my sister…
I spoke to the marketing expert and the content writer I hired for the launch…
I had built up an A-team of Awesome around me!
I talked to everyone, hashing out what had happened so I could better BREATHE through the challenge.
Lesson 3 — Leveraging Your Support Network:
Reaching out to my friends, mentor, colleagues, and sister during this tough time was me putting my "A-Team of Awesomeness" into action.
My support network proved invaluable, reminding me of the strength found in community, as well as the importance of sharing and learning through our vulnerabilities.
From Feelings to Lessons
When the Live turnout was unexpectedly low, I didn't dwell on it for days like I would have years ago.
For one, I was and am so incredibly grateful for those who did attend and the amazing engagement we enjoyed in the chat.
For two, I've built up resiliency around running and facilitating events over the years.
My mindset is now:
Feel it!
Figure out what went wrong.
Ask: When and how will I fix it for next time?
Lesson 4 — Rapid Recovery and Learning:
I quickly moved from feeling down about my mistake to figuring out what went wrong and how I could correct it.
This approach is what I mean by "Practice, Practice, Practice," in overcoming challenges.
It demonstrates a commitment to learning from all experiences and improving — a cornerstone of both self-leadership and tackling imposter syndrome.
Improve Leadership Through Transparency
Once I realized the immense lessons of what happened, I decided to take this experience and share it with my community to show that we are all human.
Social media, crippling self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and our perfectionist tendencies would have us believe otherwise.
But NO ONE is perfect, and how we react to challenges and mistakes plays a BIG part in sharpening our leadership skills and gaining wisdom.
Lesson 5 — Action and Improvement:
I took immediate action to remedy my mistake. I sent an apology email and promised the worksheet, initially meant for the webinar’s Live-only attendees, to ALL of my signups.
This step was about holding myself accountable and showing integrity.
It reflected my belief in continuous improvement and my conviction in the importance of maintaining trust with my audience.
Level Up Your Leadership In Real-Time
The way to embody leadership in action is not only when things are smooth and easy.
It’s when challenges — small and large — arise in our lives and business.
By embracing leadership skills gained from experience, we can face new challenges with even more confidence and grace, less internal turmoil, and identify crucial lessons for the future.
The Kick-Ass Leadership Course and Community isn’t simply a handing over of information.
It’s a course where you receive guidance — backed by my 50+ conferences led, 100+ workshops facilitated, and 500+ presentations as a speaker…
…plus my real-life experiences and challenges on how to truly embrace yourself as the leader you are.
Within our community, we support each other, provide modern leadership techniques that are actively working, and evolve as leaders so that we can change our lives.
With Kick-Ass Leadership, you will:
Access Live, monthly VIP sessions with me and guests, and all previous sessions
Gain Lifetime access to seven (7) dynamic and easy-to-follow intensive modules
Join our Kick-Ass Leadership Facebook group
Email me for guidance and to help you along the course
Receive the comprehensive 36-page Kick-Ass Leadership Workbook
Receive tons of practical resources to go through the course
Receive My Own Your Inbox Training, valued at US $99 + 4 Other Bonuses!
Ready to light up your leader within and take your business to the next level with the Kick-Ass Leadership Course and Community? Sign up here!
“I Want A Smaller Commitment With A Major Impact”
Need a personalized plan and an accountability partner?
I now offer consulting packages where we craft an Empowering Leadership Action Plan focusing on goal-oriented strategies for your biz.
The full package includes:
One 60-minute one-on-one consulting session.
Your Leadership Action Plan
One 30-minute follow-up call.
Email me directly at janic@rippleeffect.ws for more details or to set up a consultation!
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Janic 💜
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