Let’s talk about something most leaders pretend doesn’t exist but every member of every team feels deeply: failure. Ever notice how easy it is to talk about wins, yet how tight the room gets when you bring up what didn’t work? Here’s a reality: failures are common—like spilled coffee on a Monday. What isn’t so common is knowing how to lead when the mug hits the floor. If you want your team to get stronger after each mess-up, you need to do a few basic things differently.

First thing’s first, talk about mistakes. Not in a whisper, not with finger-pointing. Openly, regularly, and without shame. I make it a habit to bring up slip-ups in team meetings. Not to embarrass anyone, but to show everyone they’re a normal part of the process. If I make a bad call, I’m the first to name it, which makes others more comfortable sharing theirs. Want to make your team comfortable owning errors? Start with yourself.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill

You might be wondering, what if people just keep repeating the same blunders? That’s a fair concern. The trick isn’t just to highlight mistakes, but to use them as fuel for improvement. After a project doesn’t meet its target, I run sessions that feel less like interrogations and more like detective work. We don’t ask “Who messed up?” but “What tripped us up and what can we do about it?” It’s about searching for patterns and systems, not guilty parties. Team members learn to separate their self-worth from results, which honestly makes them less defensive and more open to growing.

How often do you actually hear leaders admit what they got wrong? In my experience, too rarely. Sharing these stories can be powerful. When I tell my team how I handled a big project poorly or missed a forecast, I watch the tension drop. Suddenly, people realize that it’s safe to try and fail. The goal isn’t to glorify errors, but to show that no one is immune. Besides, if I can tell the story of my own mistakes without losing sleep, my team sees proof that failure isn’t career-ending unless you cover it up or refuse to learn.

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Nelson Mandela

We all know what it feels like to be lost after a setback. Things slow down, morale dips, and people start to look for someone to blame. This is when leaders need to step up with quick, clear protocols for recovery. At my current company, after something goes wrong, we don’t let the problem linger. Within a day or two, we regroup, lay out a short action plan, and define concrete next steps. Instead of wallowing, everyone knows what comes next. This doesn’t mean forgetting about what happened, but focusing energy on making things better, fast.

Have you ever celebrated a failed experiment? It might sound strange, but I’ve learned to praise efforts, not just wins. When someone on the team tries a risky approach—even if it falls flat—I make it a point to recognize it. Not because I enjoy mistakes, but because courageous attempts lead to breakthroughs. Most innovations start with a lot of dead ends. By rewarding the guts to try, you’re telling everyone to keep experimenting.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” — Albert Einstein

Now, here’s something that doesn’t get enough attention: how you talk about these practices matters. It’s not about throwing around corporate jargon or acting like you read a new leadership book every month. It’s about small, honest conversations. Leadership isn’t about shouting from a podium, it’s about quietly modeling the behavior you want others to copy. When you admit your own learning moments, when you focus on ‘how do we fix this?’ rather than ‘who did this?’, and when you openly value effort over flawless execution, your team’s mindset shifts.

Have you noticed how some teams bounce back quickly while others stay stuck? I’d bet good money it’s not about how skilled the people are, but the culture the leader has built. If people are scared to admit they slipped, progress crawls. If they know you’ll help them turn problems into stepping stones, they become braver, more creative, and more resilient.

Why do most leaders avoid openly talking about what went wrong? Is it fear of losing authority, or just habit? Here’s the twist: real authority grows when you show you’re human enough to learn. When a leader can say, “This was my fault and here’s how we move forward,” the team gets permission to do the same. It’s rare, but it feels like a breath of fresh air.

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” — Robert F. Kennedy

One thing I often ask my team: “What’s one thing you’d try if you knew you wouldn’t be blamed if it didn’t work?” Responses are always interesting, and they often point to projects that eventually move the needle for our business. This question encourages people to stop playing it so safe, which is where true growth happens.

Think about your own work. What have you learned from things that didn’t go as planned? Do you share those lessons, or quietly hope no one notices? The reality is, everyone’s watching—especially when things go sideways. If you treat these moments as learning opportunities and not personal failures, the whole team grows stronger together.

Another overlooked trick: documenting what worked and what didn’t. Don’t just talk and move on. Write it down. Create a living storybook of lessons learned from both messes and wins. The next time a project faces a similar challenge, you’ve got a cheat sheet. This also gives new hires something to learn from besides dry onboarding materials.

What about when the team does stumble, and everyone feels the weight? I make space for brief, honest check-ins. Sometimes all people need is a moment to say, “Yeah, that sucked” before getting up and going again. Pushing feelings under the rug rarely creates strength; it just breeds resentment.

Does your group ever share credit when things work well but split when things don’t? Part of leading through failures is shifting the focus from “me” to “us.” Every success and setback is a team story. No one rises or falls alone, and recognizing that fact makes everyone pull together.

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” — Henry Ford

Taking it one step further, build rituals that make reflection automatic. After each important project, hold a quick meeting where people answer three basic questions: What went well? What got in the way? What do we try next time? No drawn-out lectures, just honest input. Over time, this turns learning from mistakes into a habit, not a once-in-a-while event.

You might be thinking, “This sounds nice, but what if my team just gets comfortable with failing?” It’s a common worry. But in practice, teams that are allowed to try new things actually get better at figuring out what works. Failing on purpose or repeating errors still requires accountability, but the idea is not to punish mistakes made in honest effort.

If these five principles sound easy, they aren’t. But that’s what makes them valuable. It’s much simpler to ignore slip-ups, assign blame, or avoid talking about failures altogether. But if you want a team that gets stronger instead of breaking down, you have to be the first to step up, speak honestly, and turn setbacks into springboards. I try every day to be that kind of leader—not always because I get it right, but because I believe teams who learn from their failures leave those who don’t in the dust.

Let me ask you: what’s one so-called ‘failure’ that ended up making your team better in the long run? If you can’t think of one, maybe it’s because you haven’t had the right conversations yet. My advice: start them. Today. Because every missed shot is also a chance for a future win—if you know how to look for it.