The Other Side of Success episode 004
How A Defining Moment of Failure Shaped a Leader
Jean Oelwang, Founding CEO of Virgin Unite, shares a pivotal moment in her career that underscores the importance of embracing failure as an opportunity. When she first joined Virgin Unite, she was tasked with presenting a new and transformative idea to a room full of esteemed leaders, including former President Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and her boss, Richard Branson. However, her initial presentation did not go as planned, leaving the former perfectionist with a profound sense of failure.
But not for long.
"Take off your superhero cape and realize that one of the reasons why we fail is because we feel like we have to be perfect and we have to do it on our own."
In this episode, we discuss:
The power of collaboration
Letting go of perfectionism
The role of leadership in embracing failure
Turning setbacks into valuable lessons that drive both personal and professional development
How embracing failure as a learning opportunity can lead to improved outcomes
"I now allow myself to fail all the time."
This moment - and the many to follow - has shaped Jean's leadership style, making her a fearless "collaborations architect" who values the input of others and recognizes that great ideas often emerge from the synergy of diverse voices.
Jean Oelwang
Jean is the founding CEO and President of Virgin Unite, an entrepreneurial foundation that builds leadership collectives, incubates ideas, and re-invents systems for a better world.
Over the last 17 years, she has worked with partners to lead the incubation and start-up of several global initiatives, including: The Elders, The B Team, The Carbon War Room (successfully merged with the RMI), The Africa Donor Collective, Ocean Unite (now ORRAA), The Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator, 100% Human at Work, The Virgin Unite Constellation, and The Branson Centres of Entrepreneurship.
As part of her work over the last three decades, Jean has helped corporations put the wellbeing of people and the planet at their core, including working with over 25 Virgin businesses across 15 industries to help embed purpose in all they do. Jean also served as a Partner in the Virgin Group leading their people strategy. She co-founded Plus Wonder to spark more meaningful deep connections and collaborations in the world.
Jean has been on the TED and TEDx stages as a host and speaker and has been the recipient of several awards including the Bernie Glassman Trailblazer Award, FilmAid Philanthropic Leadership Award, and the Gerry Susman Sustainability Award.
Connect with Jean:
LinkedIn: @jeanoelwang
@PlusWonder - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
@JeanOelwang - Instagram, Twitter
"The Other Side of Success," is a limited-run series brought to you by LIVE BETTER Media, and hosted by Ella Lucas-Averett.
In each episode, we expose the hidden side of success. You'll hear from successful people that every failure you survive is a lesson - and that the resilience that failures creates is required to be truly successful.
We’re extracting the insights and resilience gained from these experiences - because behind every success story, there's a tale of epic failure waiting to be told!
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