"We Don't Make Mistakes, We Have Happy Accidents"

In case you didn’t recognize it, the title I used for this newsletter is a quote from Bob Ross.

I’m a bit of a fan. Bob Ross is my Ambien. I watch about five minutes of him painting every night and it puts me right to sleep. Over the years I’ve watched over 350 episodes… five minutes at a time. In fact, I even tried my hand at exactly one Bob Ross landscape. You can see it below as well as learn a little bit about Bob Ross if you aren't sure who he is. 

I recently had a chance to facilitate my first full-day leadership retreat since the pandemic. Watching some of the group dynamics - and how the organization reacted after the retreat - got me thinking about this quote from Bob Ross. One person in the group was resistant at times, passive-aggressive, and even outwardly aggressive. While I believe they were doing the best they could under the circumstances, it wasn’t effective and it impacted both the event and this person’s relationships with their peers.  

I gave them feedback after the session which they took and acted on by reaching out to peers to take ownership and attend to any repair of the relationships that was needed.  

What was interesting was how the rest of the organization responded. Over the following week, there were several conversations about the incident between the CEO and this person. Discussions about behavior, respect, and values. There were also discussions of implementing new rules for meeting agreements that included civility, courtesy, and respect.  

Now I’m all for organizations having these discussions and meeting agreements. In this case, though one conversation probably would have been enough. It felt to me that this person was being publicly shamed for making a mistake and simply having a bad day. 

I often have senior leaders, especially CEOs, talk about holding people accountable, whether it’s for results or behavior they don’t like. The problem with accountability is it’s a blunt instrument. It’s something you reach for when someone falls short or messes up and you don’t know what else to do. While sometimes it is necessary, reaching for it when it isn’t necessary can have a toxic effect on a team or organization.  

Let’s consider the rest of Bob’s statement about happy accidents. It goes something like this.: 

“We don’t make mistakes, we have happy accidents… because whatever happens on this canvas… well, we’ll be able to work with it. And even if it isn’t exactly the way you want it, it’s never a mistake if you learn from it.” 

Imagine how different your team, peers, and organization would feel if, when people messed up, you treated it as an opportunity for learning and growth instead of seeing it as a failure that someone must be held accountable for. 

What would be different if instead of seeing someone’s shortcoming or “mistake” as something you needed to fix, you recognized it as an opportunity for them to learn more about themselves so they could continue to become the best version of themselves?

It’s important as leaders to coach your team well, even as they make mistakes. And they will! When you see coaching as a part of your job and approach people’s mistakes as opportunities for growth, then now you’re on the right track. 

This is my original painting. For decades, Bob Ross, a gentle landscape artist, dominated public television with his how-to-paint show.  Through his half-hour show, The Joy of Painting—which originally aired between 1983 and 1994 and is still syndicated today—Ross taught millions of viewers how to pull "happy clouds" and "happy trees" from their "almighty brushes.” 

Beyond strengthening bonds with those around you, the holiday season offers an invaluable opportunity for reflection.  The end of the year is a natural time to reflect on where you have been and where you want to go.  The holidays also offer the potential for time off, or, depending on the business you are in, a quieter workplace. Take advantage of this convergence to invest in some reflective alone time.

If improvement upon your leadership is on your agenda, discover more insights on executive development and team transformation. Thank you for reading this edition.

Visit us: www.theauthenticexecutive.com

Download our guide for developing Relationship Agility

Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdavid1/

Subscribe to Authentic Executive Insights

Follow us on Instagram: @theauthenticexecutive