The Power of Letting Your People Fail Forward
By CSM (Ret.) Rob Armstrong, U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command
In every organization, there are two kinds of teams: those who are afraid to fail and those who are encouraged to try. The difference between them is leadership.
Leaders who create an environment of fear or control might get short-term compliance, but they’ll never get innovation. True progress — whether in combat, business, or life — comes from leaders who give their people the trust and freedom to push boundaries, even if it means failing along the way.
Learning to Be a Night Stalker
When I first arrived at the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, I walked into a place that demanded perfection — and rightfully so. The standards were extremely high, the missions were incredibly complex, and the margin for error was razor thin. But what struck me the most wasn’t just the discipline of seasoned Night Stalkers, but it was the caliber of leaders within the 160th and Special Operations as a whole.
The amazing leaders I was blessed to serve under made sure I was trained thoroughly, but they also gave me room to learn and, occasionally, to fail. I didn’t get everything right in those early days. Once or twice, I made mistakes that could’ve easily ended my time in the unit. But instead of being crushed or cast aside, my leaders turned those moments into lessons.
They didn’t lower the standard — they showed me how to reach it. They used failure as a teaching tool, not a weapon. That approach made all the difference. It built resilience, confidence, and trust and it prepared me for what mattered most: performing under pressure in combat.
Those early experiences taught me a simple truth that I carried throughout my career: failure isn’t final — it’s formative.
Applying the Lesson — Trust Breeds Innovation
Years later, I had the privilege of serving as the Command Sergeant Major of U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command. In 2021, I co-authored an article for Army Aviation Magazine titled “Make Every Minute Count.”
That article highlighted a real-world example of what happens when leaders empower their people to innovate. Our Soldiers in the 160th noticed inefficiencies in our maintenance process and believed there was a better way. Instead of shutting the idea down, we gave them the space to analyze, test, and adapt.
They redesigned their duty day structure to maximize productivity while improving family balance and morale. The result was a dramatic increase in efficiency and a stronger, more motivated team.
It worked not because we micromanaged the process, but because we trusted them to figure it out. The lesson I learned as a young Night Stalker had come full circle: the best ideas often come from the ground up, not the top down.
Failure as the Path to Progress
History is full of examples of failure leading to success:
- Thomas Edison tested thousands of prototypes before inventing the light bulb.
- The Wright Brothers crashed countless times before achieving powered flight.
- SpaceX saw rockets explode before finally sticking the landing.
Each of these breakthroughs came from persistence and from leaders who understood that innovation is messy. The same is true in Special Operations. Our strength has always come from the adaptability, initiative, and the courage to try new approaches. If we crush every failure, we crush the spirit of innovation that defines us.
Creating a “Safe-to-Fail” Culture
History is full of examples of failure leading to success:
- Set clear intent but allow freedom of execution.
- Replace blame with after-action learning.
- Praise initiative, not just success.
- Admit your own mistakes — it gives others permission to learn from theirs.
If your people are afraid to fail, they’ll only ever do what’s safe. But if they know you trust them, they’ll surprise you with what they can achieve.
Legacy of Trust
The leaders who made the greatest impact on me weren’t the ones who shouted the loudest or demanded the most. Luckily, I didn’t have too many of those. They were the ones who trusted me and saw potential even when I stumbled, and who cared enough to teach instead of punishing me for mistakes.
That same spirit lives within the mission of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF). The foundation understands that growth rarely follows a straight path — that learning, healing, and succeeding all take time, patience, and belief. SOWF provides more than financial assistance; it offers opportunity, mentorship, and the unwavering message that every child and family it supports has the potential to rise again.
Just as my leaders gave me the space to fail, learn, and become stronger, SOWF gives our Special Operations families the support to do the same — to grow through adversity, to rebuild after loss, and to carry forward the legacy of those who came before them.
Because in the end, leadership and life share the same truth: it’s not about avoiding failure but it’s about what you learn from it and how you rise afterward
