Viewing Failure Through the Lens of Failure in Organizational Leadership

Viewing Failure Through the Lens of Failure in Organizational Leadership

 Sukjae Lee, Ph.D.
Creator of the Effectiveness Coaching Methodology
February 15, 2026

 

In performance-driven organizations, failure is rarely treated as data.
It is treated as deviation.

When leaders interpret failure exclusively through the lens of success—meaning through standards of achievement, target attainment, and performance metrics—they unintentionally distort learning.

From the perspective of MEWEMIND, as articulated by Dr. Lee Suk-Jae, failure is not merely an outcome shortfall. It is a relational event embedded within the dynamic between ME (the individual leader) and WE (the collective system).

To view failure properly, leaders must shift from an execution-dominant consciousness to an ontologically integrated stance.

 

1. The Leadership Trap: Success-Centered Cognition

Modern leadership environments reward:

• Achievement
• Speed
• Control
• Target attainment

Within this framework:

• Success is measurable.
• Failure is a deficit.
• Accountability precedes understanding.

This produces three predictable patterns:

1. Blame Orientation – “Who caused this?”
2. Image Protection – “How do we protect leadership credibility?”
3. Surface Correction – “How do we fix the immediate issue?”

Root-cause exploration becomes secondary.

This is not merely a managerial habit.
It is a consciousness structure shaped by performance culture.

 

2. MEWEMIND: Reframing Failure Ontologically

MEWEMIND proposes:

ME exists within WE.

Therefore, failure is not only an individual’s mistake nor merely a systemic flaw.
It is a disruption in the relational field between ME and WE.

When leaders view failure through success criteria, they evaluate deviation.
When leaders view failure through failure’s lens, they examine:

• Process breakdown
• Relational misalignment
• Decision-context distortion
• Assumption errors
• Communication gaps

Failure becomes information rather than accusation.

 

3.'Being-Centered Leadership' Versus 'Execution-Centered Leadership'

Execution-centered leadership asks:

• Did we hit the target?
• Who underperformed?
• What penalty follows?

Being-centered leadership asks:

• What happened in the process?
• What signals were missed?
• What relational dynamics influenced the outcome?
• What assumptions shaped our decisions?

In execution-centered consciousness, “I” dominates.
In being-centered consciousness, “we” emerges.

 

4. Leadership Application Framework

Below is a practical application model integrating MEWEMIND with leadership response to failure.

 

Step 1: Suspend Immediate Evaluation

Instead of immediately labeling the event as success or failure, pause.

Ask:

• What is the nature of this event?
• What process variables were active?
• What contextual pressures were present?

This reduces reactive blame activation.

 

Step 2: Map the ME–WE Interaction

Identify:

• Individual decision patterns (ME)
• Systemic constraints and incentives (WE)
• Communication flow
• Power dynamics
• Cultural norms

This mapping prevents oversimplification.

 

Step 3: Separate Accountability from Condemnation

Accountability is necessary.
Condemnation blocks learning.

Viewing failure through failure’s lens means:

• Analyzing contributing variables
• Identifying structural weaknesses
• Redesigning processes

Without attaching moral judgment prematurely.

 

Step 4: Redesign Process Before Reward or Punishment

Instead of focusing immediately on consequences, redesign:

• Decision-making protocols
• Feedback loops
• Cross-functional alignment
• Psychological safety conditions

Failure then becomes system calibration.

 

5. Organizational Implications

Leaders who adopt this MEWEMIND stance:

• Reduce defensive routines
• Increase transparency
• Strengthen psychological safety
• Encourage early error reporting
• Enhance adaptive capacity

Organizations trapped in success-only evaluation often experience:

• Repeated similar accidents
• Risk concealment
• Fear-based silence
• Escalating crisis cycles

 

6. Failure as Developmental Catalyst

Viewing failure through failure’s lens allows leaders to:

• Normalize learning
• Strengthen resilience
• Enhance collective intelligence
• Mature identity beyond ego-driven performance

Failure shifts from stigma to curriculum.

 

7. Balancing Result and Process

MEWEMIND does not reject performance.
It integrates performance with relational awareness.

Healthy leadership requires:

• Result clarity
• Process vigilance
• Identity humility
• Relational respect

Execution without being creates fragility.
Being without execution creates stagnation.

Balance creates sustainability.

 

8. Executive Reflection Questions

Leaders can ask:

1. When failure occurs, do I first search for fault or for pattern?
2. Do I evaluate before I understand?
3. What relational signals were present before the breakdown?
4. Did our culture encourage early disclosure?
5. What structural learning emerges from this event?

These questions operationalize MEWEMIND in leadership practice.

 

9. Cultural Transformation Through Consciousness Shift

In societies or organizations where:

• Evaluation dominates
• Perfection is idealized
• Failure is stigmatized

Innovation declines and fear rises.

When leaders consciously model viewing failure through failure’s lens:

• Learning accelerates
• Accountability becomes constructive
• Collective trust strengthens

This is not a soft leadership stance.
It is a strategic maturity stance.

 

Closing Insight

Failure is not the opposite of success.
It is data generated by process.

When leaders view failure only through success metrics, they defend ego.
When leaders view failure through failure’s lens, they develop systems.

MEWEMIND reminds us:

Leadership is not ME versus WE.
Leadership is ME expanding to include WE.

In that expansion, failure becomes wisdom.

 

References

Lee, Sukjae (2014). Effectiveness Coaching by a Business Psychologist. Seoul: Kim & Kim Books.

Lee, Sukjae (2020). Coaching Methodology. Seoul: Korea Coaching Supervision.

Lee, Sukjae (2024). Coaching Psychology Class for Boosting Execution. Seoul: Hakjisa.