How Leaders Treat Failure and Error Differently

Leaders view failure and error very differently on purpose.

It may sound like a matter of semantics, but for leaders, failure and error are very different outcomes that must be addressed distinctively. So they choose to treat these two outcomes differently to jumpstart improvement and to make more progress.

For leaders, failure is an event and a group activity. In other words, no one person fails. Failure is an outcome that many people contribute to.

Even when it looks like one person is to blame, a closer examination reveals that others contributed, at least in small ways. Therefore, failure is best discussed in groups. When everyone owns failure together, real learning takes place.

Discussing failure in a group makes everyone accountable. Good leaders search less for reasons why something failed and spend more time on what to do differently in the future.

This forward-thinking exploration makes people less defensive and gets everyone thinking about solutions as opposed to culpability.

In many cases, failure is a direct result of a faulty process, no matter who was driving the bus. Having everyone examine the process together and finding ways to improve or fix it is yet another way the best leaders shift the focus from blame to remedy.

This makes failure a learning activity and not a witch hunt.

In contrast to failure, errors are mistakes, missteps, or oversights made by an individual. That makes discussing an error more effective if done privately, between the leader and the offender.

In many instances, agreement on correction can be accomplished without embarrassment or humiliation, as is so often the case in group settings.

By discussing errors privately, team members are typically more willing to accept their blunder and often respond less defensively.

Failures require a group discussion and then a plan. Errors require a personal conversation and then a correction. Good leaders address them differently.

Good leaders also insist that team members use this framing when referring to any significant negative outcomes. They ask people not to refer to themselves or others as failures or failing.

The permanent casting of failure when applied to individuals is a stigma that prevents people from learning and lowers confidence. Conversely, errors can usually be corrected and are rarely considered enduring.

If failure is a group detour, errors are potholes that can be filled in. Neither is the opposite of success. Both pave the road for good fortune if addressed correctly.