Why leaders should encourage mistakes

On the latest episode of Lessons in Leadership, Leadership Expert Dave Anderson recounts the eighth trait in his 15 commandments for Organizational Peak Performance series, highlighting that top-performing dealers build cultures where employees are encouraged to take calculated risks and continuously learn from failure to improve. 

Anderson believes leaders should expect employees to make mistakes when trying out new ideas, but a workplace that punishes every mistake discourages initiative and innovation. He says employees become stronger and more capable by learning from setbacks. 

Organizations that treat failure as unacceptable often see employees stop taking risks, Anderson said. When interviewing candidates, he tells them upfront that he expects them to make mistakes over time. “I expect you over time to do new stupid things,” he said, explaining that trying something new does not always work out, but it makes employees stronger, wiser and better in the process.

Anderson said he wants a culture where people can fall, get back up and take a better shot the next time around. Workers who avoid mistakes also avoid breakthroughs, he said, choosing to stay in their comfort zones instead of pushing for improvement.

“Failure is fatal” cultures limit growth, both individually and organizationally, believes Anderson. 

The takeaway 

According to Anderson, making new mistakes is part of learning, but repeating the same ones raises a different concern. One that centers around whether an employee is coachable. While employees show growth by applying lessons from experience, leaders can better judge an employee’s potential when that person continues to take initiative and improve over time.

Concluding today’s segment, Anderson advises dealers to allow their employees to make more mistakes, but stresses not to let them repeat them. He encourages leaders to build environments where learning outweighs the pursuit of perfection. Organizations reach higher levels of performance when employees feel empowered to take smart risks, learn quickly, and avoid repeating past mistakes, he says.