Jan 15 / Melina Cordero

Leaders: the transformative power of sharing your oopsies

Why every leader should get good at sharing their mistakes

In the high-pressure world of leadership, where we’re so often told to “play to our strengths” and “demonstrate our value,” shining a light on our missteps sounds like terrible advice.

Yet sharing openly about our mistakes and lessons learned — what we’ll call here our “oopsies” — is exactly what the research says we *should* do.
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Mistakes: the research-backed rebrand

Naturally, many leaders associate mistakes with shame, believing that such errors, when exposed, demonstrate weakness, erode credibility, and undermine our ever-present efforts to rise up. This mindset around mistakes, however, is rooted in antiquated approaches to management and leadership — approaches that are being actively debunked and reshaped by newer waves of leadership research that are better-adapted to our present day (and workplaces)

The new research sheds light on the many important dimensions of effective leadership left out of older theories (theories rooted in scholarship of the 1940s, when life and demographics were very different).

In one sentence, here’s what more recent studies say about the transformative power of mistakes:

Studies show that when leaders share openly and transparently about their mistakes and present them as lessons learned, they gain credibility and trust amongst their teams and generate a ripple-effect of benefits to organizational culture.  
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The case for sharing our oopsies

The more recent research on leadership, management science, and organizational psychology identifies several specific benefits to sharing “oopsies.” They tend to fall into two categories: benefits to the leader and benefits to the wider team they serve.

Benefits to the leader:

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Builds trust and credibility

Sharing mistakes is a demonstration of authenticity. When leaders are open and honest about their missteps, it humanizes them, making them more relatable to their teams. Authenticity and relatability has been identified as core traits of great leaders, fostering trust and rapport within the organizational structure.

Shows emotional intelligence

When leaders show they’re able to admit errors, it’s a strong demonstration of emotional intelligence. EQ, as it’s sometimes called, is an important supplement to IQ in make leaders appear more self-aware and empathetic 

Demonstrates a growth mindset

Openly discussing mistakes also positions leaders as individuals open to change and growth. Leaders who embrace change and actively seek feedback create an environment conducive to innovation and improvement.
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Benefits to the team:

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Psychological safety

In positioning mistakes not as shameful errors but as learning and growth opportunities, leaders contribute towards creating a culture of psychological safety — an environment where employees will spend less time and energy anxious about performance and more actually doing the work. 

Strengthens Team Relationships

When leaders encourage a culture of openly sharing mistakes, it’s proven to foster stronger interpersonal connections within the team. Team members feel more comfortable admitting their own errors, promoting collaboration and communication. 

Demonstrates a growth mindset

Leaders who share their mistakes contribute to fostering a growth mindset within their teams. A growth mindset, supported by extensive research, posits that setbacks and obstacles are viewed as opportunities for growth and improvement. By openly acknowledging mistakes, leaders position themselves as advocates for continuous learning and development. (Source: Dweck, C. S. (2008). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House.)
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Key take-aways for leaders

Leaders seeking to foster collaboration, innovation, and inspiration across their teams should not overlook the importance of sharing their "oopsies" and encouraging their teams to do the same. If you’re wondering how to do this, below are 3 ways you can start.

3 ways you can apply these leadership insights

The Leadership Challenge

1

Share your oopsies

When you share your state-of-the-union messages, quarterly updates, or other leadership memos, integrate at least 1 lesson learned into your talking points.
2

Make it a team practice

Make sharing mistakes and lessons learned a standard practice in your team collaborations and meetings. Encourage your staff to share openly about mistakes and things they're actively improving on. 
3

Not quite ready to share?

If sharing your mistakes publicly doesn't quite feel right yet, start with making a list yourself of mistakes you’ve made and what you learned from them. The first step in learning from our mistakes is realizing we’ve made them. Spoiler alert: none of us is perfect (horrible truth, I know).