Most organizations suffer from this malady called the ‘No Mistake Syndrome’. I believe that the person who makes the least number of errors happens to also be the person who does the least amount of work. Do you agree? Why are we so afraid of making mistakes? Our fear originates in the environment of our organizations. If all goes well with a new idea, there are many takers for the credit, but the moment something goes wrong every one wants to wash his/her hands off that idea. And the hunt for a scapegoat begins! Who would want to come up with creative ideas in such an environment?

Why is it that managers show little capacity for tolerating mistakes? The fact is that today’s managers are in too much of a hurry to climb the corporate ladder. They do not have any time for mistakes. They want immediate results to show to the world that they make things happen. Their main concern is their own growth strategy. On the other hand managers, who have a stake in their company’s growth, realize that mistakes, problems, and errors (whatever you may call them), always come with a hidden potential for a greater good. History is replete with such examples.

A pharmacist was trying to produce a ‘general’ tonic, when his assistant ‘by mistake’ dropped carbonated water into the brew. Thus Coca Cola was born. Charles Goodyear ‘by mistake’ dropped a piece of rubber that had sulphur and white lead in it on a hot stove. That was the first ‘vulcanization’ of rubber. Alexander Graham Bell was trying to make a hearing aid for his hearing-impaired wife. He failed in that endeavour, but in the bargain presented the world with long distance telephony. Dr. Spencer Silver was trying to make a permanent adhesive, his failure to do so eventually gave the world a most useful temporary adhesive, which made ‘Post-it’ possible. Without these mistakes the world would have been a poorer place.

If an organization wants to experience vibrant delights of innovative ideas, it needs to learn tolerance for errors. It needs to understand that there is a great learning inherent in a mistake. The challenge for the managers is to unearth that learning and share it with the concerned employees. Let these mistakes inspire them to strive harder, for better results. Leaders who support their employees in such times earn respect by bushels.

How about facing these challenges with the joy, abandon, and playfulness of children? Learning gets enhanced in such an environment. No wonder children’s learning curve is much sharper than that of adults!

Tuning in to the inner guidance also helps in overcoming problems. But fear, worry, and resultant stress separate us from our inner guidance. We find ourselves in a vicious cycle of being unable to cope. That is when we wish problems and mistakes away. But our wishing does not help, because errors are an integral part of the learning process. There can be no real learning, if no mistakes are ever made. In stead of looking at mistakes as things to be feared, we should look at them as challenges to be looked forward to.

One reason for fearing mistakes is that we are inwardly afraid. We are under confident of ourselves and our abilities. Mistakes make us feel vulnerable. We forget that a fear based response is always counterproductive. How can we let go of this fear? When we are confident of our own worth, we are ready to take charge of our mistakes. Taking charge requires taking action. Action through thought, action through word, and action through deed! A person who is willing to take charge has no time to complain and blame other people. When we take charge, we announce to the world our determination to do a task to the best of our ability. If in doing that some mistakes are committed, so be it. That doesn’t lessen our commitment. We carry on regardless, and eventually achieve success.

At the same time we must be ready to ‘analyze’ the task at hand. Understand our mistake and make a dispassionate decision whether we need to put more energy into it or let it go. Learning to let go is an integral part of learning from our mistakes. It means that we have taken the decision to let go of a person, situation, or an outcome. Great leaders know when to hang on and when to let go.

Any mistake must finally lead to a positive change of behaviour that paves the path for achieving organizational growth. Just showing intolerance for mistakes is not going to empower the employees, nor will it help us achieve organizational outcomes. The solution lies in taking the problem by its horns: and making the employee say; ‘Now it makes sense.’ ‘I understand it now.’ The only way to insure that mistakes don’t happen all the time is to know your employees’ strengths and to delegate tasks accordingly. You need to also understand the gaps between real capabilities and projected capabilities, or perceived capabilities. Even after that if mistakes happen, own them and learn from them!