You Messed Up - Now What?

By Indie Bollman

Let’s be honest—being a leader doesn’t come with a “perfect” setting. We make mistakes. Big ones, small ones, public ones, quiet ones. What matters most isn’t whether you make a mistake (spoiler alert: you will), it’s what you do about it. 

And that’s especially true if a meltdown of any level was involved.

Clean Up the Mess (Quickly)

When you make a mess in your kitchen, you clean it up, right? Same principle applies with your team. Don’t let it sit. Don’t wait until it’s convenient. And definitely don’t pretend it didn’t happen. Address it promptly.

Ignoring a mistake as a leader doesn't just affect morale—it erodes trust. People remember how you handled the moment when things went sideways. Did you disappear into your office? Did you act like nothing happened? Or did you step up, own it, and clean it up? 

Either way, you can bet they remember, and you also bet they’ll be talking about it for years to come. Better to have them sharing the story of how well it was handled, versus how badly it went.

Circle Back and Make It Right

Once the immediate mess is cleaned up, don’t move on like nothing happened.  Something has happened and pretending it hasn’t just doesn’t sit well with anyone, especially your team. 

Circle back with them. Not just to apologize—but to show them how to take responsibility with grace and humility. Explain what happened, why it happened, what you did that could have been handled better, and what you learned from it all. Keep it simple. Keep it honest. And goodness, keep it humble.

Why This Matters (Hint: They’re Watching You)

When you model humility, accountability, and how to recover from a misstep as a leader, you're doing more than fixing your error—you’re teaching your team how to do the same.

You’re also modeling being human and the imperfection that comes with that.  If you pretend instead that you’re perfect (or trying to be), they’ll feel pressure to do the same. That leads to fear, burnout, and disappointment—because no one can live up to perfection.  So trying to reach it, and worse teaching it, never ends well.

Besides, perfection is not the goal. Progress, ownership, and growth are.

Steps to Clean It Up:

· Acknowledge the Mistake - Privately first (with yourself), then publicly with the team.  Own up to it and remember this is an incredible teaching moment.  Don’t downplay or over-explain.  And don’t even think about sweeping it under the rug – it won’t just “go away” over time.

· Apologize Clearly - Use real words: “I’m sorry,” “That was my mistake,” “I own that.” 

· Explain What You'll Do Differently - Don’t dwell in guilt. Shift to improvement. What did you learn? What’s the plan?

· Invite Input, Then Move Forward - Open the door for others to share and then listen to it.  Listen to ALL of it.  Then, reply with two simple words “thank you.”  That’s it, nothing more. 

Then get back to work—stronger and wiser feeling great about having it behind you, and for showing your up-and-coming leaders how to overcome a challenge and keep the momentum strong.

The Bottom Line

Mistakes don’t define your leadership—how you handle them does. Your team doesn't need you to be perfect. They need you to be real, responsive, and willing to own your stuff. So clean it up, circle back, and lead like a human. That’s the kind of leader people want to follow.

And if you or your team of leaders needs some help with this, consider leadership coaching. Have someone skilled and experienced in helping leaders continue to grow in this area and others.  If you don’t know of anyone, Workplace Synergistics has a team of experienced, certified coaches ready to step in and help you and your group move the needle in expanding their leadership skills and help them grow the next round of leaders they’re responsible for.