In many workplaces, discussing failures still feels risky—like it will damage credibility or signal weakness. But in this episode of Business Unbound, Olympic gold medalist Rosie Popa and host Florian Haufe make the case for the opposite: openly talking about what didn’t go right is often the clearest sign of maturity, resilience, and leadership strength.
Rosie’s story includes missing the 2016 Olympics due to injury, rebuilding her approach, and later winning gold in Tokyo. The practical takeaway for business leaders is simple: if you want a team that learns fast, adapts under pressure, and trusts each other, you can’t only talk about wins. You have to normalize setbacks—and turn them into shared learning.
Why discussing failures is a sign of strength (not weakness)
Rosie puts it plainly: “That’s like the ultimate version of strength is when you talk about when things didn’t go right.” In other words, vulnerability isn’t a branding exercise. It’s a capability—especially in high-pressure environments.
When leaders only share polished narratives, teams learn to hide mistakes, avoid hard conversations, and protect themselves. But when leaders can name setbacks and reflect on them, they give everyone else permission to be honest earlier—before small issues become expensive problems.
Research supports this reflection-driven approach. For example, Ohio State University reports evidence that leaders who reflect on mistakes can improve humility and team outcomes. That’s not about self-criticism—it’s about building a learning loop.
Embracing failure: how to build a culture where setbacks can be discussed
Rosie’s most repeatable insight isn’t “be tough.” It’s: do the hard work early, so big moments feel simpler later. In Tokyo, her crew didn’t wait until race day to try to communicate well. They defined expectations, identified stress behaviors, and made it safe to give each other feedback—because everyone was aligned on the goal.
In business terms, this is what a “failure-friendly” culture looks like:
- Hard conversations happen early. Rosie notes teams fall apart when people avoid difficult discussions until it’s too late.
- Feedback isn’t personal because the goal is shared. When critique clearly serves the mission, it’s easier to hear.
- People can name what stress looks like for them. Rosie described how she could fall into self-doubt and seek approval under stress—naming that pattern helped her manage it.
For leaders, the bar is not “never fail.” It’s “make learning visible.” Harvard Business School Online frames this as building the capability to fail well through transparency and learning—which aligns with Rosie’s emphasis on openness, psychological safety, and process focus.
Learning from setbacks: turning failure into growth (without romanticizing it)
Rosie’s failure in 2016 didn’t become valuable because it felt good. It became valuable because she used it to do honest reflection: Who am I outside rowing? What am I rushing? What foundations am I skipping?
She describes realizing she was “cutting corners” to reach the Olympics too soon, and that her overuse injury was a signal that something wasn’t working. That reflection led to practical changes: pacing her development, fueling properly, building foundations, and shifting toward a healthier mindset.
This is resilience through failure in its most realistic form:
- Give the emotion room. Rosie emphasizes honoring the hurt and the human impact of setbacks.
- Then ask the learning question. “What could I have done differently?” or “Was this systemic?”
- Reconnect to control. Identify the next actions that are actually within your influence.
For teams, the equivalent is a structured review that produces real changes, not blame. One useful framing is to re-evaluate failure as feedback—Inscape Consulting argues that failure is not a threat to future success when it’s analyzed openly and turned into learning.
Real-world applications: what Rosie’s Olympic process teaches leaders about failure and growth
Rosie’s rowing example is especially useful because it separates outcomes from preparation. She explains that rowing is “a six and a half minute effort,” but it’s also “15 years” of building toward one moment. That’s a powerful business translation: don’t judge capability only by the visible “race.” Judge it by whether the system is building strength over time.
1) Do the “dirty laundry” work before the high-stakes moment
Rosie credits her crew’s ability to communicate openly and honestly as a competitive advantage. They built psychological safety early, so they could handle pressure without breaking trust.
2) Communicate when things aren’t ideal
Rosie points out that strong leaders communicate not only when things are good, but also when things are going poorly. During COVID uncertainty, she saw the value of transparency—even “we don’t know” is better than silence.
3) Reduce stigma: treat setbacks as part of the job, not a character flaw
In organizational settings, stigma is what drives hiding, politics, and risk avoidance. Leaders who normalize learning from setbacks get more truth faster. Additional leadership commentary echoes this: Bush Marketing outlines why leaders can build stronger teams by sharing lessons from failures, including resilience and trust.
What to say as a leader when you’re sharing a failure with your team
Rosie repeatedly returns to openness, respect, and avoiding assumptions. Translating that into a simple script, a leader can share failure without overexplaining or self-flagellation:
- State what happened (clearly, without spin).
- State what you know and what you don’t know (to reduce speculation).
- Name the impact on people (not just “the business”).
- Explain what will change (process, decision rules, communication cadence).
- Invite questions and feedback (and specify where it will go).
This is vulnerability in leadership with structure—honest, but still responsible.
FAQ
How can discussing failures lead to growth?
Because it turns setbacks into usable feedback. Rosie’s example after missing the 2016 Olympics shows how reflection helped her identify what to change (patience, foundations, self-talk) and come back stronger. Open discussion also helps teams correct course earlier instead of hiding problems.
Why is it important for leaders to talk about their setbacks?
Leaders set the emotional rules of the culture. When leaders acknowledge what didn’t go right, it creates psychological safety for others to share risks, concerns, and lessons. Rosie calls this “the ultimate version of strength,” because it replaces shame with learning.
What are the benefits of a work culture that embraces failure?
Teams move faster, communicate more honestly, and adapt better under uncertainty. When people don’t fear judgment, they surface issues earlier and experiment more intelligently—key ingredients for innovation and resilience through failure.
A practical CTA: one conversation to start this week
If you want the benefits of discussing failures without turning it into performative vulnerability, start small and concrete: pick one recent setback and share it with your team as a learning review. Include what happened, what you learned, and what you’ll do differently next time.
Rosie’s underlying challenge is worth keeping: be on your own side—especially when things go wrong. That’s not lowering standards. It’s how you build the resilience and clarity to improve.
