How Much Does It Really Matter?

As we continue digging into the idea that all of us are going to make mistakes and that can’t be what completely stops us from delegating tasks to our team members, there’s one big thing we’ll need to be able to answer: How much does it really matter?

Before we get wrapped up in answering that question, let’s make sure we’re on the same page… Some mistakes come with a higher cost, and none are more expensive than the ones that are covered with excuses! Learning from a mistake is often part of the price of learning, but making an excuse rather than accepting responsibility and finding the lesson means there will never be the slightest chance to pull value from the mistake!

Whether it’s a team member who we’re developing as we begin providing them with new opportunities or a politician who’s “set up” by a salon owner, making excuses for this mistake limits (and sometimes completely removes) our chances of trusting them with much responsibility moving forward! And in a lot of cases, that moves to disciplinary conversations fairly quick - but that’s a topic for another time…

So how can we develop enough trust to allow someone to handle a task even after we’ve admitted that they’re going to make some mistakes? We need to have a picture of the potential mistakes that could happen, work with our team members in advance to avoid the potential slip-ups that may cause those mistakes, and provide them with a sense of empowerment they need to get the task accomplished even if it’s not exactly like we would have done it ourselves.

Will they still make some mistakes? I have no doubt… Will those mistakes be as critical if we’ve invested the time to prepare them and empower them? I doubt that too! Will their results be absolutely flawless from the start? Unlikely, but was ours???

As we consider each of those questions, we should also be asking ourselves How much does it really matter? 

I’m not suggesting there won’t be some bumps along the way, and some bumps come with a higher price tag than others. But if we’re going to lead our team effectively, or have any hope of ever being less busy, this is a necessary part of the equation. We just need to remember the quote I shared in the last message from Mark Cole as we decide who we can delegate those most important tasks to, “We trust people who make mistakes, we don’t trust people who make excuses.”

Quick update on the 2020 LIVE2LEAD:Harrisonburg virtual experience on Friday, October 9… In addition to everything I mentioned yesterday, there are now 4 bonus lessons from John Maxwell that you’ll get access to immediately when you register! And all of that is just $79!!!