Why Teams Need to Reflect on Mistakes

Failing Is Good. Sharing Failure Is Great—Here’s Why (and the Difference) There’s a saying in leadership: “Fail fast, learn fast.” It’s useful, but here’s a more brutal truth I see every day as an executive coach—failing is good, but sharing your failure? That’s where greatness lives. Why? Because when you keep your setbacks to yourself, you learn and (hopefully) adapt. Good leaders do this all the time: they make mistakes, reflect quietly, and get a little bit better. But great leaders zoom out. They turn their tough moments—botched launches, missed deals, the uncomfortable conversations—into teachable stories for their teams. They debrief openly, admit what went sideways, and let others in on the real lessons. That’s not just transparency—it’s leadership with leverage. It shifts a culture from “hiding shortcomings” to “shared growth.” From my coaching chair, here’s what I see: → Teams led by “silent learners” improve slowly and in silos. → Teams led by “story-sharers” (even the humble, unpolished ones) build trust and adapt at light speed. My best work isn’t about helping leaders hide their failures. It’s helping them find language, timing, and confidence to share it: “Let’s dissect this together. Here’s what I missed, what I learned, and what I want us all to watch for next time.” The difference? Good leaders bounce back. Great leaders multiply learning. If you want to unlock not just your own growth but your entire team’s potential, start here: → Normalize quick, safe failure debriefs after every big project. → Model vulnerability. Admit you miss first. → Ask your people: “What would you do differently?”—and listen, really listen. → Set the expectation: we’re here to share learnings, not to get it perfect the first time. In leadership, it’s not how you fall that changes your culture; it's how you respond. It’s who learns—and how many—from how you get back up. Coaching can help; let's chat. Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Joshua Miller for more tips on coaching, leadership, career + mindset. #executivecoaching #leadership #professionaldevelopment #growthmindset #careeradvice #learning #success

Most teams don’t get better because they don’t take time to debrief. Last year, I had the honor of doing a bunch of leadership development work alongside my dear friend and amigo, Michael French. He’s a multi-time founder with successful exits, a fantastic family, and a heart of gold. One of the most powerful tools we taught together (really he, Michael O'Brien, and Admiral Mike McCabe taught, and I amplified in my sessions) was the concept of a Topgun-style debrief — and then we practiced it ourselves after every single session as a group. It’s a simple but transformative ritual. After every experience, we’d ask each other: What went well? What could have gone better? And what actions will we take to be even better next time? That’s it. Just three questions. But when asked in a space of trust, it opens the door to continuous improvement, honest reflection, and shared learning. The coolest part? Michael started doing it at home with his son — and now his son comes home from school excited to debrief the day with his dad. That’s when you know the tool is working. The origins of this approach go back to the Navy Fighter Weapons School — better known as Topgun. In the 1960s, Navy pilots were underperforming in air combat. So they changed the way they trained. But more importantly, they changed the way they debriefed. They created a culture of constructive, positive, inclusive performance reviews — grounded in trust, openness, and the pursuit of excellence. Led to a 400% improvement in pilot effectiveness. The philosophy was clear: the debrief is not about blame or fault-finding. It’s not about who “won” the debrief. It’s about learning. It’s about getting better — together. The tone is collaborative, supportive, and often informal. The goal is to build a culture of reflection where people feel safe enough to speak, to listen, and to grow. Most organizations only do debriefs when something goes wrong. But if we wait for failure to reflect, we miss all the micro-moments that help us move from good to great. Excellence isn’t a destination. It’s a mindset. It’s the discipline of always being open to improvement — even when things are going well. Especially when things are going well. So here’s my nudge to you: give this a try. Whether it’s with your team, your family, your partner, or just yourself at the end of the day — ask those three simple questions. What went well? What could have gone better? And what actions can we take to be even better next time? Let me know if you do. I’d love to hear how it goes.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍. 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅. 𝑴𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕. Sound familiar? A team closed a major deal. Leadership congratulated them. Everyone moved on to the next quarter. No one asked: “What made this work? What would we do differently?” Three months later, they tried to replicate the success — couldn’t. Because no one had captured what actually drove the win. McKinsey found that organizations with structured learning processes are 2.5× more likely to sustain performance, yet most skip the debrief and wonder why progress doesn’t stick. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’t 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 — 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒑 High-performing teams don’t just execute. They learn, capture, and apply. 1. Execute → Deliver the outcome 2. Reflect → Ask: What worked (and why)? What didn’t (facts, not blame)? What will we do differently next time? 3. Capture → Store lessons where people actually use them (not slides no one opens) 4. Apply → Embed learnings into the next cycle Most teams stop at Step 1. The best close the loop. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒉𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 Improvement isn’t a project. It’s a practice. Daily: 5-min huddles → “What’s working? What’s stuck?” Weekly: 15-min retros → “What did we learn this week?” Quarterly: Strategic debriefs → “What patterns are emerging?” If reflection only happens when things go wrong, you’re learning too late. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 ❌ Celebrating wins without decoding success ❌ Repeating mistakes because no one reflected ❌ Treating improvement as a one-off project ❌ No feedback loops — teams flying blind 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐃𝐨: ✓ Debrief every outcome — success and failure ✓ Make reflection part of weekly rhythm ✓ Capture insights in living systems, not cluttered docs ✓ Apply relentlessly 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉: If you’re not getting better, you’re getting beaten. The fastest teams aren’t the busiest — they’re the most reflective. Reflect: → When did you last debrief a success to understand what made it work? → Do you have a weekly rhythm for learning — or only during crises? 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’t 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦. P.S. To build this discipline into your leadership rhythm → 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝑬𝒅𝒈𝒆 https://lnkd.in/gi-u8ndJ #TheInnerEdge #ContinuousImprovement #ExecutionExcellence #LeadershipRhythm #StrategicLeadership

Most teams don’t have a mistake problem. They have a silence problem. We often say we want innovation, agility, and growth. Yet many workplaces still punish the very thing those outcomes require: visible learning. One of my core values is to embrace mistakes and celebrate errors, not because failure is glamorous, but because it is informative. There’s a practice I admire from the The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. . Across their properties, teams hold daily lineups where they review what they call Mr. BIVS: mistakes, revisions, breakdowns, inefficiencies, and variations. Imagine what becomes possible when teams normalize discussing what went wrong. Shame decreases. Learning accelerates. Trust deepens. Improvement becomes continuous. The goal is not perfection. It is progress through reflection. When we stop hiding breakdowns, we start building better systems. What would change in your organization if mistakes were treated as data instead of drama?

When people are afraid of mistakes, they stop taking responsibility. And when responsibility disappears, growth follows soon after. Mistakes are not signs of incompetence. They are part of learning, innovation, and problem solving. Yet in many workplaces, errors are met with embarrassment, harsh words, or public criticism. That response does not fix problems. It creates silence. In my HR experience, I have seen employees hide issues because they feared how their manager would react. Small problems then turned into bigger ones, not because people were careless, but because they did not feel safe to speak up early. As Amy Edmondson, known for her work on psychological safety, says, “The best teams are not the ones that make the fewest mistakes, but the ones that learn the most from them.” Learning begins when blame ends. Respectful correction builds accountability. Public blame builds fear. If leaders want better performance, they must replace anger with guidance and humiliation with coaching. People improve faster when they feel supported, not threatened. Strong cultures are not built by punishing errors. They are built by teaching through them. Have you worked in a team where mistakes were treated as learning moments, or as reasons for blame? How did that affect your confidence and performance? #HR #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #FutureOfWork #CareerGrowth

Mistakes are not a sign of incompetence. They are a sign that learning is happening. In every organisation I’ve worked with, growth has rarely come from perfect execution. It comes from reflection, correction, and trust. When leaders react with anger or blame, they do not prevent future mistakes. They stifle initiative, creativity, and ownership. People stop taking responsibility not because they are careless, but because they become afraid to contribute. Gallup research shows that psychological safety, the belief that one can make mistakes without being punished or humiliated, is one of the strongest predictors of high-performing teams. Employees who feel safe to speak up are more engaged, solve problems faster, and collaborate more effectively. When leaders treat errors as opportunities to grow instead of moments to punish, remarkable things happen. Teams begin to focus on solutions instead of cover-ups. People share insights instead of hiding issues. Innovation increases because testing and learning become part of the culture. In my own experience, the most resilient teams were not those that never made mistakes. They were the ones that learned from them together, adjusted quickly, and moved forward with stronger processes and stronger trust. Calm conversations build competence. Respectful corrections build confidence. Supportive responses build loyalty. Leadership is not measured by how loudly we correct people. It is measured by how wisely we develop them. Every mistake holds an opportunity to strengthen skills, judgement, and systems. If we miss that opportunity, we not only lose growth, we lose people. Great leaders do not punish learning. They guide it. When people feel safe enough to admit mistakes, performance and engagement both improve. What is one time a leader treated your mistake as a learning moment and it changed the way you performed afterward? ♻️ Share this to help leaders in your network think differently. #Leadership #LinkedInNews #PsychologicalSafety #PeopleFirst #TeamCulture #LinkedInNewsMiddleEast #CreateMomentum

Healthcare teams work in environments where every decision matters and uncertainty is constant. The most effective teams have figured out how to create spaces where people feel safe to speak up, ask questions, and acknowledge what they don't know. Start with Curiosity Strong teams approach problems with genuine curiosity. When something goes wrong, the question becomes "What can we learn?" rather than "Who's responsible?" This shift in language creates permission for honest reflection. Make Learning Visible Leaders who share their own learning moments - the cases that challenged them, the decisions they'd make differently, the questions they're still exploring - show that growth is ongoing for everyone. Vulnerability from leadership creates safety for the entire team. Protect the Voice of Doubt In high-pressure situations, the person who asks "Wait, are we sure about this?" might be saving lives. Teams that value these moments of pause create space for crucial safety checks. Design for Multiple Perspectives Pre-shift huddles, post-case debriefs, and regular check-ins ensure that insights from all team members can surface naturally. Every role brings unique observations. Respond to Mistakes with Systems Thinking When errors occur, psychologically safe teams examine the conditions that contributed rather than focusing solely on individual actions. This prevents future mistakes while maintaining trust. Teams that feel safe to voice concerns, ask questions, and share uncertainties discover innovations and improvements that more guarded teams miss entirely.

The more mistakes a team makes, the more quickly they learn and more resilient they become… yet so many of the teams I work with are terrified of making a mistake! They have so much on their plates that they’re singularly focused on crossing things off their lists so the thought of experimenting with a new approach and having to redo it is soul-crushing. OR They’re operating within a prove-your-worth culture in which mistakes are attributed to personal failure and incompetence. OR There is no appetite for risk and the only acceptable way of working is to do things the way they’ve always been done. OR any number of other reasons top performers make themselves small instead of taking a risk that could be a win. This is bad for business. And for morale. When mistakes are seen as part of the process, teams feel safer taking risks, which leads to creative solutions and faster progress. Leaders need to focus on 3 things to encourage experimentation so their teams will risk making mistakes in pursuit of a win: 𝟭. 𝗙𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 When we meet failures with compassion, we soften the emotional blow and decouple it from identity. With compassion, the individual is not a failure (fixed mindset)… they’re an innovator who tried something that failed (growth mindset). ❇ Tip: Normalize mistakes and conversations about mistakes by conducting regular retros for missteps, large and small. Emphasize the key learnings and takeaways, not the flawed logic or approach. No blame, no ego threat, no identity crisis, no problem trying it again another way. 𝟮. 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 When learning is valued over perfection, teams are more willing to experiment, try new approaches, and push boundaries. ❇ Tip: Reinforce growth mindset as a core cultural tenet. Encourage team members to set personal development goals and allocate a budget to it. Even a small contribution can have symbolic & cultural value. Reward effort and improvement, not just outcomes and encourage voluntary share-outs or team-wide trackers. 𝟯. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Experimentation increases both the absolute number of failures and the failure rate. AND Done with systems, strategy and intention, it also accelerates growth, discovery and successful solutions. Establishing a system for experimentation allows teams to test ideas in controlled, low-risk environments where failure is seen as a step toward success. ❇ Tip: Implement a process for innovation sprints in which team members are encouraged to suggest & test bold ideas with clear guidelines on how to analyze & iterate based on the outcomes. These shifts to culture and process can have a massive impact. Teams that are encouraged to make mistakes ✔ learn more quickly, ✔ are more resilient and ✔ are more likely to take smart risks that can lead to sustainable, step function success.

An employee lost a $15M contract and I refused to fire him. Here’s why. A number of years ago, we landed a large project, led by Chris, a star on our team. He proposed a high-risk resourcing model, focusing on one key individual for delivery. Our leadership debated whether to intervene due to the high risk but decided to trust Chris's judgment, allowing him full autonomy. Everything that could go wrong, did. The key team member underperformed, and we lost the project. The client called me and immediately terminated our contract. Post-blow up, Chris offered to resign. It seemed like a natural response to such a setback. I refused to accept his resignation and told him: "You’re now the most valuable person on our team — you learned a $15M lesson. No way would I let you go.” This experience taught the team to see the value in our failures. Chris’s experience became a lesson for the entire team, transforming our approach to risk and altering the fundamentals of how we manage resourcing, bench, and talent rotation. How we handled this internally showed everyone that we stand behind learning from failure. Fear of failure = no innovation. Testing and failing quickly is good when you use those learnings to avoid future mistakes. We all became better for it. I share this story with every new team member I interact with to emphasize the importance of learning from our failures, regardless of how painful they might be. Consulting at high levels is stressful. It can feel like you’re walking on a knife’s edge — especially for product managers and engagement leads who have to balance internal organizational realities while still pleasing the client. We’ve made it clear that justified risks are genuinely encouraged and failures are dissected for learning. Experience transcends projects and retainers, which fluctuate frequently. Team members with real battle experience are a growth company’s most valuable asset. What is your stance on risk tolerance and failure? Where do you draw the line on mistakes? Are managers treated differently than individual contributors?

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵… 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲? Too many leaders create cultures where people are afraid to mess up. They think if we just prevent errors, success will follow automatically. But fear doesn’t fuel performance, it quietly paralyzes your team’s potential. I once led a team. We did things differently. At every All Hands, team members stood up, shared a recent mistake, explained what happened, and reflected on what they learned. Then came the applause. Not for the error, but for the courage, the honesty, and the willingness to grow in public. It built trust. It sparked momentum. It shaped a team unafraid to experiment, take risks, and stretch beyond their comfort zone. Mistakes happen. They’re not the problem. The real danger is a culture that hides them, fears them, or punishes them. But when your team sees mistakes as invitations to grow, they show up with more creativity, more ownership, and more bold innovation than you thought possible. If you're a leader, flip the fear: Start normalizing mistake-sharing, make it safe, respectful, and public. Frame errors as case studies, not career-enders. Celebrate the learning, not just the wins. And make one thing clear: repeated neglect isn’t okay, but learning is essential to thrive. The best leaders don’t fear mistakes. They build cultures where learning from mistakes becomes second nature and the foundation for everything great that follows. ♻️ 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄.   #LeadershipDevelopment #PsychologicalSafety #GrowthCulture #FearlessTeams