When Your Team Makes a Bad Call: How Leaders Respond to Mistakes

You stepped away.

Someone on your team had to make a decision.

They made it. And it cost you.

Now you're back, and you've got a choice to make.

Not about the decision they made.

About how you respond to it.

This Is a Leadership Moment

Here's what most owners do.

They walk in, see the damage, and let their frustration do the talking. Maybe they don't yell. But the tone is sharp. The questions feel like accusations. The team member walks away feeling like an idiot.

And the next time something comes up while you're gone?

They don't decide.

They wait.

They call you.

They freeze.

You just trained them to be helpless.

The Real Problem Isn't the Bad Decision

It's what happens after it.

If you want a team that can operate without you then you have to respond to mistakes in a way that keeps initiative alive.

This is the only way that you will architect an effective structure in your company.

Criticism kills initiative.
Every time.

A team member who gets chewed out for trying will stop trying. They'll do exactly what you tell them and nothing more. You'll become the bottleneck you've been trying to escape.

That's not a team problem. That's a leadership problem.

How to Handle It

When a flawed decision gets made, here's the framework:

1. Review the circumstances. Not the person.

Sit down with them. Walk through what happened. What did they know at the time? What were they trying to accomplish?

Get curious before you get critical.

2. Stay non-critical.

Your tone sets the temperature. If they feel safe, they'll be honest. If they feel judged, they'll get defensive.

You need honesty more than you need to be right.

3. Make the goal clear: learn, not punish.

Say it out loud. "I'm not here to make you feel bad. I want to understand what happened so we can do better next time."

That sentence changes everything.

4. Guide toward the future.

What would they do differently? What information would have helped? What does a better decision look like next time?

This is where the real coaching happens.

5. Affirm the initiative.

End by telling them you're glad they made a call. That you'd rather have someone who tries and misses than someone who waits and does nothing.

Mean it.

This Is What Structure Looks Like in Practice

The R[OS]™️ platform isn't just about org charts and documented processes.

It's about building a team that can function... that can think, decide, and move... without you in the room.

That only happens when your people trust that trying is safe.

Structure gives them the framework.

Your response to their mistakes gives them the permission.

Get both right, and you stop being the ceiling of your business.

The Bottom Line

Bad decisions will happen. That's not a flaw in your team. It's a feature of growth.

Hell. Its human nature.

The question is whether your response builds leaders or breaks them.

Choose to coach.

Choose to learn.

Choose to keep initiative alive.

That's how you build a business that runs without you.

Ready to install the structure your team needs to make better decisions — with or without you in the room?

Join RBA and start building the foundation.