September 14, 2004      

 

A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHORS

The authorsThis month we conclude our 17-part Leadership Dim Sum series by discussing how to survive The Big Mistake. Often impossible to avoid, these dreaded situations call for quick action.

We hope that you have found value in these Leadership Dim Sum articles. Figuring out how trusted leaders at the top can do their work could go on and on. The problems at the top simply don’t end. Situations evolve. Customers, markets, and technologies change. The randomness of human activity never ceases. Maybe that’s what makes life exciting.

Part of the success in building trust at the top is the recognition that we don’t have as much control over our existence as we might like.

Next month we start a new series of articles called Building Trust on the Way In. Stay tuned.

-Rob and Anne-

 

The Trusted Leader

Previous Issues:

The Virtual Inner Circle

Organizational Sibling Rivalry

When a Leader is Sick

archives

Next month's issue: What if you flub it?

Harvard Business Review case study: Succession and Failure, co-authored by Rob Galford. Available directly from HBR

LEADERSHIP DIM SUM, PART XVII: SURVIVING THE BIG MISTAKE

A company makes a product or a market bet that backfires. It has over-invested in a particular manufacturing technology, for example. Profitability is erased; the action has resulted in a severe crimp in the company’s ability to compete, at least in the short- to medium-term.

Things to think about: How can a leadership group handle a collective mistake in judgment that has affected the confidence of the entire organization in their ability to run the company? What kind of mea culpa or disclosure should take place to the organization at large? How should it be phrased or communicated?

In this type of situation, trust will erode – on all sorts of fronts – very quickly. So the speed of your response is critical.

First, shore up the inner circle by figuring out what the response should look like, who should frame it, and who should deliver it. Then emphasize the critical importance of taking the next step. It brings to mind one of the lasting lessons from Apollo 13’s near disaster: Don’t dwell on what’s wrong; figure out what’s right and move forward.
Later that same day, talk to the organization at large. Again, emphasize the future.

Acknowledge that the team made a mistake. While you can’t necessarily guarantee that mistakes won’t happen again, it is indeed possible to reassure people that you are doing your best to take the appropriate remedial steps in this particular case and to establish a means of avoiding these types of errors in the future.

Keep in mind that line popularized by Eldridge Cleaver, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”

~ ~ ~

How about you? How has your organization handled a big mistake? What worked and didn't work? Let us know.

Please forward this newsletter to your colleagues and friends who are interested in organizational and leadership issues. Your feedback is always welcome at info@thetrustedleader.com


WORKING WITH THE AUTHORS OF THE TRUSTED LEADER

Contact us for information about having us work directly with you and your organization.

The Trusted Leader website

Take The Trusted Leader self-assessment test

 

 

SUBSCRIBE TO TOPICS OF
TRUST AND LEADERSHIP

If you received this newsletter from a colleague or associate and would like your own subscription, sign up below:

 

© 2004 Robert Galford and Anne Seibold Drapeau   All Rights Reserved   Privacy Policy
  www.thetrustedleader.com

Powered by Constant Contact        email newsletter management by Minerva Solutions, Inc.