One of the things I love most about being a leader is the numerous opportunities I have to fail. Now, you may be wondering why I'd be so excited about failing. Simple - failure presents a chance to learn and to grow. It gives us an opportunity to reflect on what went wrong, make adjustments, and (hopefully) make sure it doesn't happen again. Without failure there is no growth. And as the leader of a large team, I have more opportunity to fail than anyone else, because when someone on our team fails I fail along with them. No mistake made on our team, no matter how large or small, happens without some fault of my own. Whether it was my failure as a leader to provide them with the necessary tools, clear expectations, proper training, or a healthy dose of inspiration, every mistake that occurs on our team happens because I failed in some way. This isn't to say that the individual making the mistake isn't at fault; they probably are, and they should most definitely be made aware of it. But that's exactly what makes failure so exciting. Whenever someone on our team fails, it's an opportunity to involve them in the improvement process. It's a chance to sit down with them and ask what went wrong, why they think it went wrong, and what we can do to prevent it in the future.
It's human nature for people to put up their defenses when they make a mistake - no one likes being wrong, and no one likes to take the blame for something - so the immediate response is usually to put up a wall of excuses. This is why, as a leader, it's so important to help them understand that I share some of the blame; that it's not entirely their fault. Partly their fault, sure; but not entirely their fault. I let them know that I accept partial responsibility for the mistake, even if I wasn't directly involved in the error. By doing this, their defenses immediately go down, and the opportunity for growth and improvement opens up. You'd be surprised at how much someone is willing to open up and accept responsibility when they aren't the only one doing so. And you'd be even more surprised at how much they'll improve if you allow them to be part of the improvement process. When someone makes a mistake, encourage them to help identify where the breakdown occurred and ask what they would do differently next time in order to prevent it. You'll ensure that they're fully vested in the solution and it drastically decreases the chances of the same mistake happening again.
It's all too easy for leaders to immediately criticize, condemn, and complain. Far too easy to write someone up when something goes wrong and to say "don't let it happen again". Too easy to allow team members to fail on their own, but easier still to stand up and take the credit when their team succeeds. This is exactly what lazy leaders do - in fact, I wouldn't call this type of person a leader at all. I'd call this type of person a coward - a coward who is afraid of failure. A leader who cannot set the example of what to do when faced with failure will find themselves with a team that will never grow, never learn, and never improve. However, a leader who sees every failure as an opportunity will find themselves surrounded by a team of individuals who will also see the value in that opportunity; and in turn, will find themselves failing less and less often as they continue to grow together. So next time someone on your team fails, stop and ask yourself what role you played in it. Before you move to immediately find out where their fault lies, consider first where you may have failed them, and don't be afraid to openly share it with them. Over time this will begin to develop a team who of course never wants to fail, but will not be afraid to accept responsibility if and when it happens. And most importantly, a team who will figure out ways to ensure the same mistakes aren't ever made again. To quote one of basketball's all-time greats, "I have failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed." Now get out there and show your team how to turn those failures into successes.