Not All Failures Are Equal: What Academic Libraries Can Learn from Amy Edmondson’s Research

In a moment that quickly went viral, professional tennis player Amanda Anisimova stood at the mic after a crushing loss, fought back tears, and thanked the crowd with unflinching honesty. For many, it was a moving act of vulnerability. For Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, it was something else: a rare, generous act of courage after a devastating failure.

“It was courageous,” Edmondson said. “It was honest, and then you realize how compelling it is and how few people truly take that opportunity to be honest and vulnerable and generous after a devastating failure.”

Academic librarians, too, navigate high-stakes environments—though we’re rarely in front of global cameras. We steward change, launch untested programs, and respond to evolving student needs. But what happens when our efforts fall short?

If we’re brave, we do what Edmondson recommends in her 2023 book Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well—we treat failure as a tool for growth.

All Failure Isn’t Equal

Edmondson classifies failure into three types:

• Basic failures are preventable mistakes—usually due to inattention, miscommunication, or lack of training.

• Complex failures happen in systems with many moving parts—like rolling out a new LMS or managing a digital preservation workflow.

• Intelligent failures occur when we explore new territory with clear goals, thoughtful design, and calculated risks.

Intelligent failure is the kind academic librarians should embrace. It means you tried something new, with intention and curiosity, even if it didn’t work.

The Best Libraries Fail More—Not Less

In Right Kind of Wrong, Edmondson explains:

“The most successful or high-performance organizations are not the ones that never fail. They’re the ones that catch and correct. And they’re willing to take risks in new territory in ways that often lead to success — but often don’t.”

This idea cuts against traditional academic norms. Libraries, historically, are spaces of precision and order. But in today’s reality—marked by emerging technologies, evolving curricula, and complex equity needs—a “no-failure” mindset guarantees stagnation.

What Failure Looks Like in the Library

Here are real-world examples of intelligent failure in academic libraries:

• A new student engagement app flops, but feedback reveals critical access issues among first-gen students.

• A pilot information literacy session doesn’t resonate—but sparks deeper conversation about culturally responsive teaching.

• An OER initiative doesn’t gain adoption—but lays the groundwork for future faculty collaborations.

These aren’t failures to hide. They’re data-rich stepping stones—if we’re willing to talk about them.

Turning Toward a Learning Culture

To move from fear to growth, libraries must cultivate psychological safety—a workplace climate where team members can share mistakes, ideas, and questions without fear of humiliation or punishment.

Here’s what that looks like:

• Leaders share their own stumbles openly.

• Teams hold reflective debriefs after big projects, not just celebrations or silent wrap-ups.

• Staff understand that thoughtful experimentation is expected—not exceptional.

At Inclusive Knowledge Solutions, we’ve seen that the libraries most ready to adapt are the ones that normalize smart risk—and bake reflection into their strategy.

Five Ways to Start Failing Well

1. Start using the language of basic, complex, and intelligent failure with your team.

2. Add reflection questions to planning docs: What’s uncertain here? What are we trying to learn?

3. Protect pilot spaces: Not everything needs to scale immediately.

4. Celebrate the attempt: Recognize staff for proposing and trying new ideas.

5. Model honesty: Leadership should make learning visible—even when it’s messy.

Failing Forward Is a Leadership Skill

To lead well in libraries today, we need more than expertise—we need courage. Courage to try, reflect, revise, and try again.

Because the truth is: failing well is leading well.