How to Address a Mistake You Made with a Collaborative Team

Episode Summary

In this episode, I reflect on what it really means to address a mistake I’ve made within a collaborative team. I explore why the hardest part of a mistake is often not the error itself, but the vulnerability required to acknowledge it openly and honestly.

I share a real example from my own work with assessment development, where I realized I had built materials from the wrong priority standards list, costing my team time and clarity. I talk candidly about the discomfort of owning that mistake and why avoiding it would have caused more damage than addressing it directly.

I connect this experience to the importance of repairing with a team rather than for a team. Collaboration requires shared recovery, open dialogue, and a shift from apology to problem solving. When leaders invite input, listen without defensiveness, and focus on solutions, mistakes can become moments of growth.

I close by emphasizing that mistakes do not define professionalism, but responses do. Transparency strengthens trust, consistency rebuilds credibility, and grace paired with accountability allows teams to move forward stronger than before.

Show Notes

• Acknowledging mistakes early instead of avoiding them.

• Why honesty lightens the weight of an error.

• A real example of an assessment planning mistake.

• Repairing with a team through shared problem solving.

• The importance of listening without defensiveness.

• Shifting from apology to action and solutions.

• Rebuilding trust through consistency and follow-through.

Key Takeaways

• Leadership begins with vulnerability and honesty.

• Avoidance causes more damage than mistakes.

• Repairing together builds trust and ownership.

• Reflection turns guilt into professional growth.

• Consistent follow-through restores credibility.