Support Making Mistakes in the Service of Learning: Silencing the MMQ Within

Support (səˈpôrt/):  bear all or part of the weight of; hold up.
Mistake (məˈstāk/):  an action or judgment that is misguided or wrong.
Learning (ˈlərniNG/):  the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught.

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 How often do I engage the internal "Monday Morning Quarterback" (MMQ):  I cannot believe I did that!  What was I thinking?  I botched that situation!  It seems that I try to prevent mistakes with a false sense of being perfect and then bash myself when I am being human and vulnerable!  There are countless instances where people's mistakes become headline news - AND - where I headline my own failings (at least in my own mind!).  The challenge: to slow down; to hold lightly; to become compassionate and tender with myself and others; and to learn from those vulnerable moments, using the decision or action - and even these MMQ moments! - as a journey towards understanding.

Mistakes - Support - Learning

One of the dialogue skills (the "rules"to develop a Model II nondefended learning stance articulated by Chris Argyris) is the ability to support making mistakes in the service of learning.  Questions I have been considering these past few weeks:

• Do I focus on the "mistake" rather than the "lesson learned"?
• Do I create a "teeter totter" that rewards one over the other?
• Am I willing to look at the whole: the ability to hold both in creative tension, allowing a balance between vulnerability and growth?

When I look at the whole, I begin to see the word "support" that creates an environment which allows human vulnerability, silences the MMQ, and celebrates the learning.

 Cheers, as we make mistakes, as we learn, and as we support one another!

Larry Gardepie