Mistakes Can Be Our Friends

Do you sometimes make mistakes? I do. Do your team members sometimes make mistakes? Of course they do. Mistakes are a part of being human.

In a world obsessed with success and perfection, the idea of making mistakes and experiencing failures often carries a negative connotation. However, making mistakes has the potential for significant benefits if we manage them well.

Before we dive into the value of mistakes, let’s define what we mean by mistakes. Harvard Professor Amy Edmondson, in her book Right Kind of Wrong, defines mistakes (i.e. errors) as “unintended deviations from prescribed standards.” The key here is “unintended.” In contrast, Violations occur when an individual intentionally deviates from the rules and that becomes a coaching issue. We will focus on the potential benefits of unintended mistakes.

Potential Benefits of Mistakes

Before we dive into the potential benefits of mistakes, we should make a distinction between catastrophic mistakes versus non-catastrophic.

• Catastrophic mistakes are those that have major detrimental results, such as significant monetary loss, human injury, or even death. These are never acceptable, and we should have policies, procedures, and processes in place to prevent them.
• Non-catastrophic mistakes are those that have relatively minor impact and are typically correctible or have no long-term effects.

Here are four potential benefits of non-catastrophic mistakes:

1. Mistakes can be excellent learning opportunities. Mistakes and failures offer invaluable learning opportunities that cannot be replicated through success alone. Each misstep offers a chance to reflect, analyze, and improve. Author James Anthony Froude wrote, “Instruction does not prevent wasted time or mistakes; and mistakes themselves are often the best teachers of all.” Henry Ford once said, “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” SurePay President Michael Alter counseled, “Mistakes are the tuition you pay for success.”
2. Mistakes can lead to improved processes and systems. Edwards Deming (father of the Total Quality Management movement) wrote, “Eighty-five percent of the reasons for failure are deficiencies in the systems and processes rather than the employee. The role of management is to change the process rather than badgering individuals to do better.” If we have psychologically safe work environments where mistakes are freely admitted and analyzed, we can look for process and systems improvements to minimize future mistakes.
3. Mistakes can result in greater Resilience and Adaptability. Mistakes that we learn from and navigate positively build our resilience and future adaptability. When we and our teams have positively managed a past mistake, confidence is increased that future mistakes can also be dealt with well. Author Gever Tulley wrote (paraphrased), “Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through mistakes.”
4.  Mistakes can help improve Innovation and Creativity. Sometimes mistakes are made in attempts to try something new or different from the past. Examples could include working with new equipment, software, or technology; or trying new procedures or processes; or developing new or improved products or services. We have all benefited from people in the past who were innovative and creative and tried new things (thank you Thomas Edison for the light bulb.). Philosopher Edward Phelps wrote, “The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.” Albert Einstein said, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” Author James Joyce wrote, “Mistakes are the portals of discovery,” and Hockey star Wayne Gretzy famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” When trying something new or different, making mistakes and learning from them can be valuable and part of the innovation and growth process.

 How to Gain Value from Mistakes

Here is a five-step process that can help us turn our mistakes into valuable lessons:

• Acknowledge our mistakes. When we or our team members make a mistake, we should admit it right away and apologize, as necessary. Making the effort to own up and apologize for a mistake shows respect to the people who have been affected by the mistake. Acknowledging mistakes builds trust and credibility and can start the process to learn from the mistake and make positive changes so future mistakes are avoided. As leaders, we should model owning our mistakes and create a safe environment for our team members to acknowledge their mistakes too. I like this quote from speaker Michael Johnson who counseled, “Acknowledge that you failed, draw your lessons from it, and use it to you advantage to make sure it never happens again.”

• Analyze our mistakes. Once a mistake is acknowledged, the next step is to analyze why the mistake was made. We can think about what caused the mistake, what was done well, and what was done poorly. We should be thorough, objective, and rational, not emotional. Getting input from every person involved with the mistake is important. Our goal is not to place blame but to get to the root of why a mistake was made. We have heard the saying that “experience is the best teacher.” A better principle is “evaluated experience is the best teacher,” and that is what this step is all about (evaluating what happened and learning from it).

• Find lessons. After we have analyzed why the mistake was made, we can find lessons to apply to the future. Ideally this step should involve everyone on our team that was part of the mistake or that may have helpful ideas for future improvements. Examples of potential lessons may include the need for improved training; changes to procedures or processes; better quality review; or other ideas to avoid repeating the same mistake. We want to take to heart the quote from author George Bernard Shaw: “Success does not consist in never making mistakes, but never making the same one a second time.”

• Develop and implement a plan to apply lessons. Now that we know why a mistake was made (i.e., lessons), the next step is to develop a specific plan to address the lessons. This is where we decide what we will do to prevent future mistakes. Our plan should include enough details that we are confident the root causes are addressed and remedied. Once the plan has been vetted with all people affected, the next step is to implement the plan. After a plan is implemented, we can monitor and follow up to ensure it’s achieving the desired results.

• Keep a learning and growth mindset. Having a learning mindset is thinking of ourselves (and our teams) as constantly learning. Keeping a learning mindset can help us and our teams view mistakes as lessons and growth opportunities rather than failures. Psychologist Carol Dweck has researched and developed the concept of a “growth mindset” (versus a “fixed” mindset). “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work,” she explains. “This creates a love of learning and resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.”

Bonus Tip: Learn From the Mistakes of Others

Legendary businessperson and investor Warren Buffett once advised: “It’s good to learn from your mistakes. It’s better to learn from other people’s mistakes.” I love this advice, don’t you? There are many ways we can learn from the mistakes of others, so we don’t have to repeat those mistakes ourselves. We can read books, articles, blogs, and excellent trade journals such as this one. We can actively take part in trade associations, conferences, seminars, and webinars. It’s also valuable to build our personal networks, so we can mutually share, support, and learn from others that have similar responsibilities.

While mistakes may be perceived as a setback, they can serve as a catalyst for learning, growth, resilience, and innovation. Managed well, mistakes can make us – and our teams – better and truly be our friends.