Why hiding your own mistakes teaches your team to hide theirs
Managers often cover their errors to protect their authority. But the team is watching, and what they learn is that mistakes here get hidden rather than fixed.
THE QUICK ANSWER
Admitting a mistake does not make a manager look weak. It gives the team permission to be honest. When you quietly cover your own errors, people learn that mistakes are hidden rather than fixed, so they do the same, and you discover the damage months too late. The fix is to say it out loud: “I got that wrong. Here’s what I’m doing differently.”
GO DEEPER
What your team learns from how you handle errors
Covering a mistake feels like protecting your credibility. Managers worry that admitting an error will make them seem less capable or invite people to question future decisions. Fixing it quietly and moving on can seem like the most professional option.
But teams pay close attention to how leaders behave, not just what they say. If your errors disappear without comment, people conclude that mistakes are something to conceal here. The next time someone gets something wrong, they are more likely to hide it, which means problems grow unnoticed until they are much harder to fix.
The fix from the video is to name it plainly: “I got that wrong. Here’s what I’m doing differently.” The second half matters as much as the first, because it shows that owning a mistake leads to action rather than blame. A useful step is to name one mistake to your team this week, even a small one.
This is not about constant self-criticism or oversharing. A brief, matter-of-fact acknowledgement is enough; dwelling on it can make the team uneasy. The goal is to show that honesty about errors is normal and safe, so that bad news reaches you early.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Your team will handle mistakes the way they see you handle yours. Own them out loud, and you are far more likely to hear about theirs in time.
TEST YOURSELF
You realise a scheduling decision you made caused a missed deadline. What does the video suggest?
PRACTISE IT
Try this lesson in the arcade
Quick retro games that start with this lesson’s situations. One thumb, one to three minutes, free.
