Why Do My Team Make Mistakes?

Have you ever asked yourself “why do my team make mistakes?”

So…. have you really asked yourself “Why do my team make mistakes?” When was the last time you looked at your reaction when mistakes happen? Have you ever received a single and straightforward answer as to why this occurred? Probably not.

You are far more likely to receive an abundance of responses than a single, overarching reason.

They may be true, false, or somewhere in between, but the fact remains that the mistake was made and a fix must be introduced.

Finding the root cause

When a mistake is made, it is very easy just to shrug your shoulders and walk away. However, by taking this approach you are losing out on an incredible opportunity to learn what to do better next time. Every mistake provides insight, even if it’s where you messed things up.

Was it a price issue, functionality, tactic, human error or perhaps timing that caused the mistake? Obtaining the answer is vital. You need to take the opportunity to learn what went wrong so that next time you can get it right.

This process of discovery can be an uncomfortable, one that will force you to correspond with your client who may feel that you are currently not good enough. Leave your pride at the door and approach the situation as if you had got everything right.

Remember: What you take away from the interaction will help you sell in the future.

As a manager, it’s important that your team go through this process and provide feedback on what they found. The more candid, the better, so this should be encouraged even if it means admitting fault. Encouragement of gaining this information is important and should be a requirement after any mistake.

Deal retrospective

After finding the cause (or at least trying), it’s time to conduct a retrospective review.

Labouring the point that a mistake was made should not happen, but not reviewing your approach to see how you can do better next time is laziness.

Review the work schedule. Look at any and all conversations with the client and if the correspondence was equal or heavy on your side. Check the timing of events and if there were any patterns. All this information is valuable and could help to create a better roadmap for the next project.

Most importantly, review your project flow and stages of the process. When did you last review these items? Have processes changed since the last review?

The Process Flow

Understanding the flow and any possible gaps will allow for closer monitoring of other projects in the pipeline. If any items were missed, all other projects being worked should be reviewed to ensure proper delivery for your end user or client.

Questions & support

It seems obvious, but many times the delivery team were not supported properly. This absence of support can sometimes be hard to spot, and may not even be something the manager is aware they are lacking.

When you or your business is asking questions, are you sure they are getting the right answers? Are all the right people involved to ensure the answer is not only accurate but persuasive? This kind of support is integral, especially in difficult projects or ones not going quite to plan; if overlooked, it could spell disaster.

Properly addressing a question or concern, especially in project delivery, is as important as any part of the whole process. Empower your team to call on the your decision makers and your clients decision makers. Give them access to everyone that may be able to provide value, and coach them on when to get them involved. Asking for help should be embraced.

Make tough decisions

A Great Team make a lot of money for the business, and there is a reason for it: It’s hard to be good at what your team does. Learning a skill, creating a need, instilling urgency, negotiating terms and following through is an ability that few individuals possess. That is why the best team members are highly sought after across your industry and appropriately compensated.

That said, know when to cut losses. It’s far too common that underperforming team members go too long without producing, and managers make up excuses for their poor performance. Every day that you employ someone who does not produce is a day that you could have someone new deliver correctly your next big project. If you use the tactics in this blog, it will be easier to separate the bad from the good, and the good from the great.

In summary

• Have your team provide specific reasons why the mistake was made.
• Review all mistakes made in the business, mapping out areas of improvement, and make sure to implement those changes in your team.
• Review the position of your support and empower team members to tap into your technical know-how.
• Integrate performance reviews, looking at the context and objective reasons for why mistakes were made, to alleviate them moving forward.

Are you concerned that your team make too many mistakes? Would you like to know how I work with business owners and senior managers who have teams working for them?

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