Facilities Teams: Improving the Learning Culture around Failure

Abstract

Learning from failure in a team environment is a crucial component for any organization wanting to grow and innovate. When a team does not learn from failure, it hinders performance and negatively influences the organization. The purpose of this case study is to help the Raytheon facilities leadership team understand how the project management and real estate strategy team handle and learn from failure. The case study used a qualitative case study approach, using interviews and a document review, to help understand the current state of the two teams around learning from failure. Through the qualitative approach, four themes emerged. The four themes are inadequate processes, procedures, and guidelines, inadequate roles and responsibilities, insufficient training and mentoring, and inadequate accountability. These four themes summarized the research findings of the case study. Further, they bring to the forefront the challenges the teams face while trying to learn from failure. If the facilities leadership team can develop a plan to help mitigate some of these challenges, it may help develop a robust learning culture around failure. A culture that can learn from mistakes and failure, helping the two teams realize greater rewards from mistakes. This, in turn, may help improve when they fail, leading to more creativity and innovation within the teams.