The most successful people aren’t the ones who manage to avoid failure. Entrepreneur and author Fiona Macaulay says they’re the ones who learn how to fail forward.

“When we have a failure, it doesn’t make you a failure—it’s simply having a failure. The real question is: what strategic intelligence can you learn from it?”

-  Fiona Macaulay

In this episode of Standing Up Strong, Dr. Jillian Coppley sits down with Wild Network founder Fiona Macaulay to talk about the truth behind success that most people never see: the long trail of setbacks, pivots, and lessons that make it possible.

Fiona shares how perfectionism nearly derailed her early success—even landing her in the emergency room with a panic attack while her company was thriving. That moment forced her to rethink what failure really means and how leaders can transform setbacks into what she calls “strategic intelligence.” Fiona explains why talking openly about failure can be liberating—and how it helps people move from shame to learning.

Dr. Jillian Coppley is a visionary executive recognized internationally for her expertise in character strengths, wellbeing, and organizational transformation. With deep experience in positive psychology, strategy, and change, she has led large-scale collaborations, built global programs, strategic partnerships, and thriving organizational cultures that empower individuals, teams and organizations to flourish. Her leadership blends strategic vision, research-based innovation, and deep personal care for others —creating environments where people and programs thrive and where meaningful, lasting impact takes root.   

Fiona Macaulay is a leadership expert and keynote speaker who designs immersive learning experiences that drive lasting behavior change for Fortune 500 companies, global nonprofits, and professional associations. With 25 years of experience, her approach combines practical frameworks with real-world application, ensuring participants leave with tools they can use immediately. Fiona is Founder/CEO of The WILD Network, connecting 25,000 purpose-driven leaders across 100+ countries in global development and social impact. In the academic world, Fiona serves as Adjunct Professor and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.

This series is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Family Center for Storytelling at the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the science of character strengths is integral to our work creating a community of upstanders.  https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/  https://www.youtube.com/@holocaustandhumanity    

Our thanks to the Mayerson Family Foundation and the VIA Institute on Character for their support of this series   

https://www.mayersonfoundation.org/  https://www.viacharacter.org/    

Episode Resources

Follow Jillian and Fiona on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcoppley/  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionamacaulay/ 

Buy Fiona’s book, “Aim High and Bounce Back” https://a.co/d/0eqsJg3m 

Take your free character strengths quiz 

https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/upstander/assess-your-character-strengths/

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Erscheinungs­datum: 13.3.2026, 15:00:00