Moving On From Mistakes

Happy Thursday!  For the month of May, I’m focusing on the importance of maintaining a strong head-space as an org leader in tech.  Here’s what you need to know in under 2 minutes…

What tech leaders should be thinking about this week: How to move-on (and learn!) quickly from mistakes.  Last week, I missed my usual “Monthly Resources”email.  I was in NYC facilitating an offsite for a new (Storming! Forming!) team. I chose to take a SoulCycle class instead of drafting my weekly email. Guilt quickly followed (I’ve been on such a roll!), but it got me thinking – little mistakes like this are part of any tech experience, and good leaders need to learn from the experience and move-on quickly to continue driving impact and inspiration. Acknowledging the miss, feel the feels and focus on the future … last week’s experience was a great reminder for me … and hopefully you)!

Why this is important:  No one wants to follow a leader who’s constantly focused on past mistakes – or afraid to make new ones. You’ve all been around managers who operate in this fear-based way. It’s stifling, uninspiring, and frankly boring. Leaders who know they’ve made a mistake, find ways to improve, and have an interesting story to tell are ones who will win in tech. Leaders who give themselves a break will inspire a following and have a much better experience themselves. What’s the fun in always succeeding, anyway??

Simple “Go-Do’s” for tech leaders/performers:  Next time you find yourself screwing-up, think about taking a different approach to working through the situation.Getting more intentional around your reaction, impact, and go-forward plan will ensure you’re in the driver’s seat with your head-space and not at the mercy ofthe mistake. When you know you’ve goofed:

·     Acknowledge the mess-up and take accountability.  Know what role you played and tell yourself that this was a miss (I find saying this out-loud really helps)!

·     Take a breath

·     Note the impact of the mistake and tell those who are impacted

·     Write-out (1) what you’ve learned and (2)what you’ll do next time

·     Figure out how you want to tell this story in the future – talk about a great interview answer!

Value Add – Additional ways to show-up as a leader:  Don’t forget folks across your organization are also beating themselves up over their own mistakes. Think about how you want to address miss-steps as a leader and how to create a clear/confident-headed culture. Make mistakes part of your 1:1 conversation and incorporate misses into OKRs. Talk about your own mess-ups often and how you’ve used them to be a great leader today. Bottom line – find ways for everyone to move-on from mistakes quickly!

New/improved dedicated newsletter page!  Know someone who’s looking for quick/easy ways to show-up better as a tech leader/performer? Forward them this mail or have them sign-up directly on the new/improved newsletter page on theEngaged Pursuit website.

Here’s to your Engaged Pursuit!