When Your Staff Makes a Major Mistake

The downside to being a leader/manager who delegates when appropriate and gives staff the authority and the responsibility to get the job done is that a valued staff member will inevitably make a major mistake while handling something important. This can be harrowing for all involved. Here are some thoughts on how you can effectively deal with this inevitable situation:

1. Don’t assume that if you would have handled the situation, the mistake would not have happened. Maybe you would not have made this particular mistake, but you likely have mishandled something else that you did not delegate. It’s inevitable—mistakes happen. Don’t use a mistake by a staff member as an excuse to start micromanaging.
2. If you heard it first from your staff member, praise him or her for coming to tell you directly. No one wants to tell the boss bad news. It takes courage to face the music.
3. Even if you did not hear it first from the staff member, when discussing the issue with him, first ask how he is doing and try to put him at ease the best you can. If your staff member is suffering a little, that’s a good sign: team members who care enough to suffer are the kind of team members we want to have. But a mistake by a valued staff member should never be career-threatening. Make sure he knows that early on.
4. Valued staff members will remember all the times they may have made mistakes, but not the times they saved the organization from big problems. Remind the valued staff member of all he has done well.
5. In the immediate aftermath, don’t bother with “why” the mistake happened. You need to focus on mitigating the damage as best as you and your staff member can. Focus on next steps. Include the staff member in developing solutions. A “root cause” analysis of the mistake may be helpful later to avoid the same mistake again. But you don’t have to address that immediately.
6. Depending on the gravity of the mistake, you may need to help with internal damage control. Make sure everyone in the organization understands that you have your staff member’s back and that you are focused on solutions.
7. If your organization requires someone to take the blame, then you take the blame. You don’t want to work in an organization with that type of culture anyway.
8. Consequences may be warranted. There is nothing wrong with a staff member receiving a smaller bonus or a smaller raise because of a mistake. Major mistakes have consequences.

*Photo Credit: bplanet via freedigitalphotos.net

The information contained on this blog is not legal advice, nor does this blog create an attorney-client relationship. Klein Bussell attorneys do not blog about pending matters handled on behalf of our clients and will never disclose client confidences.