You may have seen the video of the robot that does a backflip. It’s an enormous innovation and also shows a lot of human elements. While the whole parkour routine is truly astounding, an unsung highlight of the video happens around the timestamp 0:55 – you can see that the robot doesn’t nail the landing.

To catch itself (is this the right pronoun?), it takes a couple of corrective sidesteps and then finds its balance. It looks like a gymnast who makes the ever-so-small step at the landing to catch herself after a jump. To me, those sidesteps even give it some grace in what is otherwise a “mechanic” (and impressive) routine.

What makes these little steps remarkable (on top of the whole parkour routine) is that it shows that the robot can deal with mistakes. The ability to deal with mistakes and how we do it is critical in our approach to work and life. The way we handle these little mistakes often shows more about us than what we do when things go smoothly.
When we make mistakes, we suddenly feel extra pressure; we notice the spotlight is on us, and we want to get out of the situation. Because of the stress, we reveal a lot about our true nature and what is important to us. Other people can learn a lot about us, and it can have a huge impact on the relationships and the way we work with others.

The tempting reaction is to try and cover up the mistake – to make an excuse and brush over it. Even though we may tell ourselves that we’re doing it for the sake of someone else – a client, customer, or boss – in reality, the driver here is our desire to look good. The desire to cover something up is about our own needs and not the needs of the situation. When we do this, it may bring up a few questions in the other person’s mind, such as what else is being covered up, how well is the product/service really developed, and will the mistake really be fixed or is it back to business as usual?

Here’s the fix: Instead of blaming others or trying to cover up what happened, own up to it and make it clear that it will be fixed (and do it!).

When leaders take this action, they create a culture that makes it easier to focus on the tasks at hand – without anyone having to worry about looking good. It’s a culture in which innovation and the quest for new solutions can flourish because the focus is on the task at hand instead of ourselves.

Here’s the gratification of doing this: In the privacy of your mind, you can take pride in the https://buycbdproducts.com that you have the skills and courage to recover from mistakes without damaging the relationships around you or anyone else. As you recognize this, you will grow stronger and be even better next time.

Make it real

When something goes wrong this week (and something will because things go wrong for all of us), don’t blame it on someone else or try to sweep it under the rug. Instead, acknowledge that it happened and tell others that you will work to get it right (sweet and brief).

If you feel courageous, start your next team meeting with, “Something that went wrong for me last week was XYZ. Here’s what I learned from it: ABC. And this is what I have done to get it right in the future: UVW.” (It may be obvious, and I’ll say it anyway: the corrective action should not be to check up more on someone else. It needs to be only about you.)

Want to learn more about leading a work environment where new solutions are delivered frequently? Check out my innovation workshops or innovation keynotes.