When People Screw Up
The problem with people is imperfection.
People make mistakes; sometimes big ones. Leaders and managers usually don’t like mistakes.
Michael Hyatt gave me his version of fail fast, yesterday, “The faster we fail the faster we learn.” The potential benefit of failure doesn’t mean, however, that we intentionally seek or enjoy it.
It’s one thing when you fail;
it’s another when your team members fail.
When team members screw up:
- You’re responsible even though you didn’t do it. Embarrassment!
- It costs money. Frustration!
- Efficiency falls. Disappointment!
Michael Hyatt on dealing with the mistakes of others:
“Create distance between the failure and how you feel; if you’re tired, stressed, or angry, wait.”
Michael’s comments reminded me of something a corporate executive recently told me when I shared my frustrations regarding the performance of a leader. “Dan, everything you just said was about you.” KaPow! Dang that stung.
Frustration makes us focus on ourselves.
Don’t deal with the failure of others until you can do it with their best interests in mind; create distance first so you can connect later.
Hyatt went on to say, “The first issue isn’t mistakes but ownership. People who own their mistakes learn and grow.”
People who don’t own their mistakes blame and excuse. In this case, leaders deal with blaming before dealing with mistakes.
Ownership says, “We’re in this together.” Blame says, “It’s not my fault.” Deal with blaming before dealing with mistakes.
The biggest mistake is making an excuse or blaming someone else.
How do you deal with the mistakes of others?
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I have got to learn to stop blaming..always think “well I’ve got myself together, why should I take the blame for someone else”…but all this is so true! Great, insightful read!
Hi Aprildoc,
Thanks for the good word.
I just read, “What was done to you doesn’t matter in the end – all that matters is how you respond.” Joel Manby in “Love Works”
He sure nailed taking responsibility.
Best,
Dan
I’m an advocate of failure! On the basis you describe, if we don’t fail here and there we’re not trying hard enough. I think Vishen Lakhiani at MindValley actually encourages people to fail once a month. 🙂
Hi Stuart,
I like to think of failure as learning as we go. I’m a big fan of trying things.
Perhaps one factor in failing is how much it costs?
Best,
Dan
Dan, you (and Michael) have pointed out the first step in dealing with failure. Look at it through dispassionate eyes. How we feel about the failure or mistake has little to do with actually fixing it. The quicker we can process our emotianl baggage attached to it, the quicker we can work on a solution and move forward.
Martina
@MartinaMcGowan
Hi Martina,
Great seeing you today.
We invest too much emotional energy into things that should be viewed through dispassionate eyes. I love the word dispassionate. I’m always talking passion but there’s a place for the opposite.
Thank you for sharing your insights.
Best,
Dan
Encourage your team to take risks and challenge the process.
As I always say, the first one to make five thousand mistakes wins.
In this case, imperfect people are the problem… 🙂
Ooops. My mistake. ;-p
I think this is another area where listening more than you talk is helpful. Give the individual who made the mistake the chance to take ownership, to decide how to correct the mistake and talk about how that mistake will be avoided in the future. Sometimes once a mistake is made leaders jump in too soon to fix the problem and prevent people from really learning from their mistakes.
Hi Bonnie,
I agree completely. Keep out of the way as long as there is progress toward success.
Thank you for stopping in and sharing your insights, again.
Cheeers,
Dan
Dear Dan,
I absolutely agree that the biggest mistake is to make an excuse or to blame someone. And the biggest strength is to accept the weaknesses or mistakes. I believe between successful and unsuccessful people is about our mental thought process. It is the way, we look at things. Generally people thinking inside out tend to see things that protect their image. Whereas people who are outside in oriented, tend to accept things, and think that their image is not affected. I think the way to deal with mistake of others is to feel them without feeling disrespected. He should still feel confident and while pointing out make sure that it enhances relationships.
Generally when you point out someone mistake, relationship suffer. So, good leaders create environment that does not affect relationships and mutual trust.
Dear Ajay,
Thank you for sharing your insights.
Thanks for reminding us of the relational aspect of mistakes. In the best situation, working through mistakes should strengthen not weaken relationships.
One way to evaluate our effectiveness with people who make mistakes is to ask how the relationship is doing.
Best,
Dan
Usually if someone is failing at something it helps to remind them if they are not failing they are not learning. I sometimes site a quote from some of the most successful people ever to offer encouragement… Sometimes you can offer help and other times it’s something they have to work out on their own… Some times we must step back and let them struggle through it on their own.
I have to agree on taking ownership, way too often we tend to try and place the blame on something or someone else… First we must accept we are responsible and then you are ready to overcome the challenge. If not we are avoiding and we are not learning, so their is a higher chance to fail at the same thing again.
A few quotes of encouragement:
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. ~ Thomas Edison
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts. ~W. Churchill
Thanks,
Josh
Josh,
Thank you for joining the conversation.
I suggest one factor for stepping in or not is the depth of impact the mistake has on others and/or the bottom line.
Thanks for the great quotes and for sharing your insights.
Best,
Dan
Zero failure cultures don’t eliminate failure, they just drive it underground.
I would add that you deal with the outcomes in the best way for the team. Don’t disrupt them, don’t throw a decent coworker under the bus, but don’t carry a weak link for too long either.
My personal theory: if you can detect remorse, dig in just enough to make sure the lesson is learned and move on. No remorse, start finding a way to move them on.
Hi Greg,
Once again your experience shines.
You’re making me think how zero failure cultures cause everyone to act in self-protective ways… definitely not the way to bring out the best in others.
Cheers,
Dan
Reblogged this on Florida Fowler and commented:
In returning to the world of blogging, I didn’t promise that all of the content I post would be mine! See the article below from a blog I follow, “Leadership Freak”.
“Ownership says, “We’re in this together.” Blame says, “It’s not my fault.”
It is amazing how easy it is to get into a rut; everything seems fine and then BAM, nothing can seem to go correct.
I think managers biggest influence to failure is by assisting with the issue by asking what “was your reasoning” vs. “what could you possibly be thinking???”. Leaders have the opportunity to show through current examples to understand their followers mind set and correct things that may not have been completely clear to begin with.. Likewise employees have the opportunity to break away from a mindset that they may not have previously known was leading them down a bad path.
Key Point: Push the blame on your employee and they will shy away from admitting when they are wrong. Encourage them to succeed and grow and they will!
Hi Todd,
Love your key point. Taking responsibility enhances loyalty, builds respect and strengthens relationships.
Thank you for sharing your insights.
Best,
Dan
Thank you for the great post! I think the first step is to set standards and make your expectations known, before there is a chance to fail.
My team knows exactly where I stand on issues because I voice my standards and set clear, measurable, and attainable goals. They know that I do not expect perfection, but I do expect their best effort.
When a team member fails, the person readily tells me where he or she fell short in relation to my set standards. They take ownership because they know the expectations. Without knowledge of standards and expectations, they wouldn’t know where they went wrong.
They may not know how they got to the point of failure, but they know which standard or expectation they failed to meet. This knowledge helps them build a plan and they usually bounce-back nicely.
Accountability is also a key aspect. My team knows that I will hold them accountable for a lack of effort and this motivates them to give it their all. I always try to acknowledge their best effort, even if they fail.
Really liked this post.
It is important for leaders to create an environment where failure is owned by everyone in the team. A blame culture doesn’t help anybody and drives the wrong behaviours (risk aversion, self-protectionism, failure to innovate etc).
Collaboration comes from people knowing that it’s ok to fail because failure is a necessary part of innovation.
It’s so easy to say that we’re OK with mistakes. However, when it comes down to it, do we act that way? Most of the time I don’t think so which is even worse because what we say and do are 2 different things! Thanks for the reminder, Dan!
Dear Dan,
A real good lesson of today! “It’s one thing when you fail; it’s another when your team members fail.” True leaders learn from their own mistakes and take the blame for the team’s failure.
Create a work-culture where every individual knows what is expected of him and make him accountable for the results. Give a real good recognition for the accomplished tasks and encourage them to give their best during the course of action. Yet, failures are there and the blame game needs to be avoided.
Pull the people for their ineffective efforts and procrastination in bringing the timely results. Employees do respect the objectivity based performance review with right guidance and support from the seniors.
The simplest solution is to practice professionalism at work and remain fair & transparent while dealing with employee staff.
I bought Mike’s book yesterday and I haven’t even started reading it yet! I have been enjoying the rich content of the bonus features. Plus I downloaded all of his podcasts and have been listening to his stuff for the last two days. I’m am in shock and awe! And I do remember what he was saying about what you stated above. When he was saying it in one of the videos, I finished the sentence almost verbatim because it is a principle I have been practicing with my team since I read John Maxwell’s Developing the Leaders Around You! Good read! I’m sharing!