Photo via Fast Company
The gap between who we are and who we want to become is rarely a straight line. According to Fast Company, the difference lies in how we talk about setbacks—and how willing we are to discuss the messy middle of professional growth. For Charlotte-area leaders climbing the corporate ladder, this distinction matters deeply, especially in competitive industries like banking, tech, and healthcare where perfectionism often masks the reality that all high performers stumble along the way.
Executive coach Courtnee LeClaire, who previously led worldwide marketing and corporate partnerships at Apple and served as CMO of the Oakland Raiders, has made a critical linguistic distinction: "failure" is a permanent identity statement, while "failing" is an active, changeable state. The difference is profound. Saying "I failed" closes the door on possibility; saying "I'm failing at X" opens it. This reframing acknowledges current reality without cementing it as identity, giving leaders—and their teams—room to course-correct and improve.
Charlotte business culture, like most professional environments, celebrates finished products and polished success stories. Yet the unspoken truth is that every executive in our region's growing tech corridor, banking sector, and emerging startups has experienced setbacks. By normalizing honest conversations about the "becoming" process, leaders can build psychologically safer teams where people take calculated risks and innovate rather than hide missteps.
For Charlotte organizations looking to develop stronger leadership pipelines and foster resilient company cultures, LeClaire's insight offers actionable guidance: encourage your emerging leaders to share their learning curves, not just their accomplishments. When executives model vulnerability about their own "failing" moments, they give permission for others to approach obstacles as temporary conditions to navigate rather than permanent character flaws.
