When I was at Cornerstone Schools, the program began with the students performing a brief skit. They had memorized lines and recited them in front of all of the mentors. When the microphone was passed to one young man, he said three words…..then froze. Words would not come out. To his credit, he passed the microphone back to his counterpart, asked for him to start over, then tried again. This time, he succeeded with flying colors.
But that’s not the purpose of this post.
The story continues when the principle spoke after they were complete. Instead of congratulating them and moving on with the program, she tried to explain the purpose of the presentation, why they were presenting, how they were just learning, and actually apologizing for his failure. That really got under my skin…WHY?
When someone acknowledges their mistake, corrects it, then moves on…so should we.
He had already made the correction. I was so proud that he tried again. And he had let it go. But by attempting to explain his failure, she made it worse.
If your team, family, etc make a mistake while they are trying something difficult, let them go. Don’t feel the need to explain why they failed. Most of the time, if it is something that people already acknowledge as being difficult (i.e. public speaking), they will already show the person grace and mercy. Encourage the person, but don’t feel the need to apologize on their behalf.
Kontinue to Konker.
Chadwick Taylor is CEO of KONKERER Leadership
He helps clients develop leaders with a servant mentality through individual development and workshops
