After You Fail: A Leader's 5 Step Plan to Fail Forward Sýnishorn

Take Responsibility

Have you ever failed one of your employees?

All the leaders I’ve mentored say these are the most painful blunders to recover from. But they also say these mistakes teach the most powerful and lasting lessons, lessons that inform their leadership for the rest of their careers.

I remember the time I lobbied for a raise and promotion my employee didn’t even want. She was a single mom, which is something we had in common. Because a good income was important to me as the sole provider, I thought she would want the same opportunity. So, I created a career path for her and pushed it forward. Right after my boss approved everything, the employee turned in her notice.

I was shocked and felt betrayed, but after sitting down with her, I learned that a flexible schedule and working closer to home were her most important priorities, not money or more responsibilities. She’d accepted a new job minutes from her house with flexible hours. If I’d bothered to have a conversation with her—instead of plowing forward with my assumptions—things could have resulted differently. But instead, I lost an outstanding employee.

My mistake reminded me that assumptions can be harmful and should never replace communication. I resolved to be more intentional about asking questions and listening to my employees, instead of thinking I knew what was important to them. This personnel blunder taught me a lesson and changed my behavior.

Human nature is to explain away our mistakes, even if just to ourselves. Instead, we need to acknowledge where we went wrong and accept responsibility for it.

In our focus verses today, we see how King David failed to lead his people justly. First, he abused Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his closest warriors. Then David deceived Uriah and implicated Joab by having him orchestrate Uriah’s death. Yet God loved David enough to send Nathan to correct him. David took responsibility for what he did, and though there are consequences, God forgives him.

When we fail the people God called us to lead, we feel as if we’ve failed him too, even after we own up to what we did or didn’t do. Mistakes can make us think we’re no longer worthy of stewarding others, but God helps us realize he didn’t call us to lead because we’re worthy. His power stands in the gap when our unworthiness causes us to fall short, and the same grace that covered David is there to cover you.