#96 Ann Hiatt on failing to learn, insatiable curiosity and psychological safety

Ann Hiatt is a Leadership Strategy Consultant working with scale-up companies to create rapid growth. Ann talks about personal and professional change and the skills needed to navigate the uncertainty of change. She advocates a need for an “insatiable curiosity” and draws on her experience of working with Jeff Bezos at Amazon to demonstrate how companies can grow through a recession through innovation and technology. I particularly liked her phrase “Having talented people is more important than a solid business plan because your business plan can pivot but you need talented people to deliver it.”

I’m impressed by Ann’s ability to balance being a perfectionist with her willingness to fail in order to learn and apply the learning in innovation. She draws on Carol Dweck’s book ‘Growth Mindset’ to explain the importance of seeing failure as an opportunity to learn, even though it is excruciatingly painful at times! As we continue to lead change in organisations in a context of economic and political instability, as well as a cost of living crisis, having the resilience and growth mindset to lead through uncertainty becomes ever more critical.

Where could you have an insatiable curiosity? Where is the opportunity for you to learn from failure?

Topics covered:

• Curiosity
• Rapid growth
• Psychological safety
• Failing to learn vs being a perfectionist
• Carol Dweck’s book ‘Growth Mindset’
• Humility, vulnerability
• Innovation

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