Helping Direct Reports When a Mistake Is Made

Mistakes are inevitable.  They are learning opportunities.   

Perhaps you share this wisdom with direct reports during onboarding.  An employee who knows you'll help them through their mistakes is an employee who will come to you early and often when they err.  This builds a trusting foundation for your relationship.

Fast forward to the day a mistake happens.  The rubber meets the road now.  Are you as open, as willing to help, and as understanding as you stated previously?  Intentionally creating a practice for you to digest, process, and respond to a mistake will benefit you the moment one occurs.  Consider these strategies to get started:

Have your initial reaction to the mistake privately.

Some mistakes are more consequential than others.  Your initial reaction may be one of anger, frustration, disappointment, or disbelief.  Allow the emotion to be processed by giving yourself time, taking a deep breath, and understanding the details of the situation.  Talking to the employee while the emotion is high can cause friction and negatively impact your long-term relationship. 

Prepare your response to the employee thoughtfully.

After you process your initial emotion, address the mistake in a professional, respectful manner.  You are not absolving the employee of the error, you are helping them understand what went wrong and what they will do differently next time.  You cannot change the past.  You can learn from the past to set clear expectations and influence future behavior.

Get feedback from the employee.

Though the employee made the error, you might have a role to play.  Ask yourself what you could have done differently to support the direct report.  Ask the direct report how you can help them to move forward.  This is servant leadership in action.  Determine your own role, if any, in the mistake and learn alongside the employee. 

Support the employee to fully own the fix.

Blame is an ugly thing.  An employee who errs may tell you many reasons why he or she failed.  The ability to take responsibility for a mistake is important.  As the leader, hold the employee accountable to resolve the issue and make better decisions in the future.  Model this behavior when you mess up, too.

Being human means learning from our mistakes.  The sooner a direct report makes you aware of a mistake, the more quickly you rectify it and move forward.  You and your team can work through these obstacles together, strengthening trust in the relationship.

Dr. Katie Stone is the founder of Together Evolving.  Email Katie at katie.stone@togetherevolving.com to learn more about the transformational impact coaching has on you and your leadership.