This may sound crazy, but if you really want to be a successful leader, you need to set yourself up for failure. What??? Shouldn’t that be: set yourself up for success?

No, because the fact is that there is no single leader ever who has not failed at one time or another. We all fail, because we all make mistakes and we all have our moments of pride and “blindsightedness”. In short, we’re all human (surprise!).

So what we really need to be doing is a much better job of anticipating our weaknesses and our rough areas and preparing for them. Organize your life and your relationships in order to anticipate, recognize, and deal with failure. The success will come gradually as you learn from your mistakes, suck it up, and move forward. If you set yourself up for success, you’re basically tacking a huge sign on the back of your behind that says “Kick Me” and telling the universe you’re here. And the universe is not a kind taskmaster.

Set yourself up for failure, and when failure comes, you’ll be ready for it. In the long run, that is the only way to be truly successful.