In this insightful installment of our ‘From Failure to Breakthrough: Pivotal Leadership Moments’ series, we sat down with Philippe Mesritz, a transformative leader at Fractal Exec. Philippe opens up about a formative challenge during his early career at a DSL company that reshaped his understanding of effective leadership. Once driven by the need to have all the answers, Philippe’s journey showcases how embracing failure can serve as a powerful teacher in fostering growth and resilience. Join us as he shares the pivotal lessons learned, his evolving approach to risk-taking, and advice for others facing career setbacks.
Interviewee Name: Philippe Mesritz
Company: Fractal Exec
The Interview
What inspired you to start your journey in this field, and how did it all begin?
Philippe Mesritz : My journey into customer-centric work began years ago when I started as a cashier and stocker at KB Toys. Interacting with “the public” every day sparked a passion for working with people. From there, I explored hosting text-based online games and websites, dabbled in web design, and eventually found myself at the start of the DotCom boom. It was at a DSL company where my leadership career truly began, growing a team from 0 to 135 and then going through the crash … from 135 to 20 and then being impacted myself.
Can you share a failure that significantly impacted your perspective as a leader?
Philippe Mesritz : One of the earliest failures that shaped me as a leader happened during my first real management role at the aforementioned DSL company. I was young, ambitious, and eager to prove myself. I thought leadership meant having all the answers and being the go-to problem solver.
What was the most important lesson you learned from that experience?
Philippe Mesritz : I micromanaged too much and, when I didn’t, I wasn’t managing at all. Either I hovered over my team, double-checked every task, and made decisions without much input from anyone else, OR I was absent, paying nearly no attention to what was going on.
In my mind, I was being helpful and ensuring quality while letting them be autonomous. In reality, I was slowing everything down by the combination of “smother” and then “vanish”.
The wake-up call came when one of my best team members pulled me aside and said (paraphrased), “Help us do our jobs, don’t do it for us and don’t be absent.” It helped me realize my wrongly placed need to control everything was actually eroding trust and stifling their growth. After that conversation, I made a conscious effort to try to be involved the -right- amount and focus on removing obstacles rather than creating them.
That experience taught me that leadership isn’t about knowing it all or believing your team has it all without you; it’s about empowering others and creating the conditions for them to thrive. It was a great lesson that’s stuck with me ever since.
How do you approach taking risks now compared to earlier in your career?
Philippe Mesritz : Early in my career, taking risks was scary and something to avoid at all cost. Don’t make a decision without knowing what the result would be; don’t try something that might create a problem. This aligned with the leadership “culture” at many of the companies I worked at, but it never really felt right.
Now, I believe that taking a risk is often the right choice. Avoiding it has much bigger downsides since you’ll never have significant successes either. Over time, I’ve learned to assess more quickly, trust my instincts (and, more importantly, those of my team around me), and lean into the calculated risks — especially when the potential upside is high. Failure isn’t fatal in 99% of the cases, so embrace failure and learn from it. Whether the outcome is good or bad, you learn, adapt and move forward.
By taking the team’s perspective into consideration, you get diversity of thought and allow for the space to experiment. It’s less about making the perfect decision and more about making informed choices, acting decisively, and adapting as new information comes in. The goal isn’t to avoid mistakes — it’s to make sure you’re always learning and improving along the way.
How do you foster a culture where failure is embraced as a growth opportunity?
Philippe Mesritz : I actually asked some people that I worked with that question, so I’ll use their words:
“I still remember when you told us we could come directly to you with ideas, no matter what level we were at. That was HUGE. Knowing I had your support to suggest that new RCA process, even as a frontline employee, gave me the confidence to speak up. It showed me how important it is for leaders to create an environment where people feel heard and valued.”
“Other times you knew I’d struggle but gave me a “soft landing” to learn. Judging when to push people vs. create safety nets is a nuanced skill. Giving people opportunities at the edge of their abilities, with the right support, helps them develop.”
I think it boils down to helping the team understand that failure is OK, but also being there to step in when something truly goes awry to prevent it from failing hard enough to break someone’s self-confidence or their ability to do the job.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone struggling with setbacks in their career?
Philippe Mesritz : If you’re truly struggling, talk to a mentor or a coach. You don’t have to go at it alone and it can really help give you new perspectives. I find that when you’re in the depths of despair about what’s going on, it’s easy to look at the negative and assume there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. Someone that’s “been there” can usually help with that.
I would also say that setbacks are normal. I’ve been through 3 layoffs where I had a hard reset of what was going on, twice during economic or job recessions. It’s hard, no doubt. Realizing that a career is non-linear and doesn’t always go the way you have planned in your mind will help you align on the long term rather than the “now” struggle with a setback.
Leaders Perception magazine would like to thank Philippe Mesritz and “Fractal Exec” for the time dedicated to completing this interview and sharing their valuable insights with our readers!
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