A message from Sandy. All made mistakes. Post-It-Notes (and who can live without those?) came about because a scientist creating it didn’t get the stickiness of the glue quite right. Liquid paper was invented in a kitchen, by a typist, who wasn’t so good at typing, and Columbus set off for Asia and landed in America. So what you say……well who is going to go through their career without mistakes happening—yours or the mistakes of your team. To be a leader who truly makes a difference you need to get good at handling mistakes.

• Understand Your Big Picture: Does your big picture have anything to do with enabling yourself and others to be at their best, to align themselves with the image you want your business to project? Using that guiding principle for how you lead, means you are better equipped to handle mistakes when they happen.
• You Understand You Are Facing A Test Of Your Leadership: People want to know they can trust you no matter what the situation. Does your staff  know that you believe in their competence and capabilities and that if an error was made, it would be rectified with your full support? Some leaders focus on blame, others focus on the fix, learn from it, and move on. Which are you?
• When Others Make A Mistake Let Them Be Part Of The Solution: There is nothing more demoralizing than having someone tell you that your work is inadequate, and then being excluded from rectifying the situation. Avoid the impulse to fix the problem yourself. (which can be particularly challenging) Allow the person to learn from their mistake by correcting it.
• There Is Never Failure Only Learning: When you focus on learning from the mistake it accelerates the growth. Remember, throughout history, every great mind never got it right the first time. Mistakes mean you are moving. No movement means stagnation.
• Criticize The Mistake, Not The Person: If you attack/accuse/criticize the person you can’t truly expect anything other than frustration, resentment, and hiding. You may find the next time something goes wrong it will be hidden from you. It is rare that when someone makes a mistake they aren’t feeling pretty bad already, you won’t gain anything by rubbing salt in the wound. You build loyalty and commitment when you don’t equate mistakes with being a mistake.
• Focus On The Fix: When mistakes happen, focus on how you will remedy the situation, both for the long and short-term. Use a problem solving approach that helps you work out the causes and put in place systems or techniques that enable it to be avoided in the future. Your focus is on fixing the process not the problem.
• Let Others Know: Inform the appropriate people quickly. It is best they hear from you, let them know how you plan to fix the issue. Don’t let the reaction of others dictate how you respond. Take care of yourself and your team in a way that engages and energizes.