How to evaluate and cope with the people who make mistakes

It’s crunch time for the National Football League teams as they come down to the final games of the season and fight to make the playoffs. For teams on the bubble or fighting for post-season positioning, every play seems important, every mistake magnified. It’s fascinating to see how each coach and leader on the field reacts to crucial mistakes.

Not all mistakes are created equal. But we often react the same way when one occurs, and that can have some unintended consequences in a work environment. As kids, we probably all experienced that sinking feeling of dropping a glass on the kitchen floor; the initial shock and then the concern of a potential reprimand. When you are a leader in a company, understanding that there are different types of mistakes and that it’s important to have a different reaction depending on the situation is vital to establishing the kind of firm you have. Mistakes can be something everyone runs from or they can be a catalyst for learning and growing. Your reactions help to determine which.

Let’s use that dropping the glass analogy to talk about four kinds of mistakes that we all make and discuss how we should think about them in a work environment:

1. Dropping the glass. We’ve all felt the rush of guilt or embarrassment when something bad we didn’t expect happens. Most of us don’t love the sound of a glass smashing on the floor and then having to clean it up. Most are simply an oversight done with no ill will. Getting reprimanded is not particularly useful. In a work context, the stakes might be higher, but if you are in a service business, there will always be mishaps because you are working with people. Accepting some level of error and instilling a culture of learning rather than blaming helps people to openly acknowledge problems as soon as they occur. Focusing on the issue and not the person who made the mistake helps enforce accountability without placing blame and without ignoring the problem.

2. Letting the glass fall. This example is where someone sees something bad is going to happen, but does nothing about it. An example might be seeing a manager hiring a worker who is a bad fit for the company, or seeing a marketing campaign that will fail and saying nothing. This often reflects a person who does not feel ownership for the problem or the consequences, but it could also reflect a culture in which people just mind their own business and play it safe. Understanding whether it is the person or the culture creating this type of mistake matters in how you treat the situation. This CYA dynamic is often pervasive in large firms that can be more political but we see it all the time in smaller firms, too. How can you tell if it’s part of your culture? Ask yourself how often people on your team step up and say “it’s my responsibility” or “it’s my fault that things didn’t work out.” The more willing people are to accept ownership for errors, the more it reflects a culture of ownership.

3. Throwing the glass. Sometimes people willingly make a mistake. Perhaps they scream at a co-worker or take a work request and shove it in a drawer. We are human, some people are not very good workers, and sometimes we are good, but in a time and place where we lose our judgment and focus. That’s especially true if people are under excessive stress or overworked. Understanding whether there is something out of character or if the workplace is creating this situation matters. We should recognize that when someone willingly makes a mistake it is usually a cry for help in some way. We should also recognize that perhaps we have a bad apple and that can quickly spread, which leads us to…

4. Repeatedly throwing the glass. Sometimes people are burned out, sometimes they are begging to be freed, and sometimes they are simply incompetent. But if a person is a repeat offender and the company does nothing about it, you are also saying something to all the folks who have to put up with the consequences of a bad actor within the organization. Swift corrective action is important for everyone.

Wooden’s wisdom

Many years ago I had the pleasure of going to a luncheon with John Wooden, the winningest college basketball coach of all time. He was an incredibly brilliant and humble leader with a lovely, gracious speaking style. He shared that he would start his first practice every season the same way, by ensuring his players put on their socks and sneakers the right way. He literally would ask them to do it for him and then spend the entire practice showing them how to put on their shoes and socks the right way. He viewed every practice as the chance for his players to learn process and grow from mistakes. During games he would seldom correct players when they made an error. He knew they knew. Then during their first return practice he would discuss the game and where they needed to improve and practice the corrections they needed to make. His overwhelming world view was that the only thing he could control was the process; the people on the court and the culture and the outcome was pretty much out of his control by the time the game started.

That approach to learning from mistakes landed UCLA 10 championships in 12 years (seven of them in a row!). That’s almost inconceivable today. Imagine if we learned and grew from all our mistakes starting with ourselves. How much better would we all be? Perhaps we’ll all be more forgiving when our favorite quarterback throws another interception!

Joe Duran is chief executive of United Capital and author of “The Money Code: Improve Your Entire Financial Life Right Now.” Follow him @DuranMoney.