Lessons from Leaders: Featured Guest Michele Laird, Senior VP for Programs at Pact

”If people aren’t failing, then I think that possibly they are actually not pushing beyond the envelope. They are not innovating, not pursuing that hard thing, and not stretching. That's why it is important to recognize and celebrate failure.” Michele LairdThis week, I sat down with Michele Laird, the Senior VP for Programs at Pact. I love Michele’s take on failure and the importance of trying and being willing to fail, even sharing that when her family sits down for dinner, she asks, "What did you fail at today?"Michele talks about normalizing failure and encouraging looking at what may not have gone "correctly" and learn from what happened.She also shared a blurb from Janet Finch, the author of White Oleander, who says, “The Phoenix must burn to emerge.” Michele says that a big ‘burning failure' may not be the goal, but that the lessons learned from failure are ones she encourages all entrepreneurs, CEOs, and leaders to use to further their evolution.Evolution, innovation, reflection, and impact are all words Michele used to define values in her organization. Also discussing leading from love, Michele notes that it can be a calming force in the face of mistakes, unexpected turmoil, or failures."Having conversations from your heart is really important, and people will feel that, hear that, and understand they are safe. They will understand they can try new things and if it doesn't go as planned, that's okay.... it helps us to react and lead better."Michele's wisdom on her core values and principles in this episode is palpable. Thank you to Pact for sharing another member of the organization with us this week. We are so grateful!