Everyone sets an example. Some are good, some are bad. The trick is to learn what you can from both in order to replicate the former and avoid repeating the latter. The biggest lessons and most valuable learning comes at a cost (financial, opportunity, pain, etc.). The more we can learn from others’ mistakes, the less personal cost we’ll pay along the road to wisdom. When we repeat mistakes made by others, it’s a missed opportunity. When we repeat our own mistakes, the cost can be extraordinary. Any mistake repeated more than once is no longer a mistake, it’s a decision. We’re not always going to hit homeruns, but we can all learn from the examples of others to avoid striking out as much as possible. 

We can all think of examples from our professional lives when a boss, co-worker, or we ourselves, have made a mistake that has caused pain for us or others. What we do with those examples is up to us. We can get mad, we can ignore it, or we can take advantage of it as a learning opportunity to avoid repeating the same mistake. In Magic in the Room Podcast Episode 73: Halloween Special, Chris, Hannah, and Luke shared some memorable negative experiences from their professional careers so that we can learn from those examples to become better leaders.

Hannah’s story deals with the enormous responsibility and influence we as leaders have in advancing the well-being of those on our team. Early in her career, Hannah had just launched one of the biggest projects she had ever put together. After an intensive two-week launch, which was a big success, she got a call from her boss who wanted to meet with her. Expecting high praise and a big celebration, she was told matter of factly that she was off the project and a colleague would be taking over. You can imagine the devastation. Her emotions instantly went from enormous pride to crushing defeat. It turned out that the boss didn’t mean anything personal by the decision, but was relatively new to the organization and did not understand the full scope of the project. Despite that, Hannah’s relationship with that individual was never the same. She lost all trust in him as a leader and ultimately ended up moving to a different department. From this experience Hannah learned first hand the impact that once decision can have on building or tearing down trust.

Hannah’s lesson is critical. Leaders are responsible for stewarding the well-being of the people in their organization. This is a weighty responsibility. Our team members look to us to look out for their well-being, champion their success, and help them accomplish their goals. Meaningful recognition is one of the most important ways we can exercise that responsibility. We should make an intentional effort to take advantage of every opportunity to recognize and celebrate accomplishments, even those that seem minor or routine. 

On the other hand, when accomplishments are minimized or dismissed, even unintentionally - which is almost always the case - trust is destroyed and engagement is crushed. This is an especially big risk for new leaders. When we step into a new leadership role, many of us are tempted to make impactful organizational changes or big management decisions early on. This can be dangerous, as our actions can have unintended consequences when we don’t fully understand the background and complexities behind a given situation. During this phase, it’s important to take the time to understand context and become familiar with the nuances of the situation before making meaningful management decisions. It’s okay to ask others for advice, to delay a decision, or simply to maintain the status quo until you have enough situational awareness to fully appreciate the second- and third-order effects of a decision. When we fail to do so, it’s at our own peril. 

Trust and respect take time to build. Everyone carries a mental ledger, noting the deposits and withdrawals made by others, especially our leaders. Unintentional withdrawals are just as costly as intentional withdrawals, and while deposits take time to accumulate, one unfortunate withdrawal can quickly wipe out the entire balance. The good news is that you don’t need to make a mistake yourself to learn the cost of a withdrawal. When you witness a “horror story” of your own, rather than getting upset or frustrated by the behavior of others, take advantage of the opportunity to learn what you can, and be grateful for the leadership lesson that you didn’t have to pay for out of your own personal account.

To hear Hannah’s full story check out  Magic in the Room Podcast Episode 73: Halloween Special in your favorite podcast player.