How should an interior design business respond when an employee makes a mistake? The first response needs to address the problem while keeping the conversation open enough to understand what happened.
This Business of Home article caught my eye when I first wrote this post in 2023:
How 6 designers handle employee mistakes
Hopefully there are no stories about yelling, screaming, and firings!
The first designer, Victoria McKenney, could have been reading straight from my book! 🙂
“I truly believe that every mistake is an opportunity for learning, so it is important to first review what went wrong, and if there is a way to make sure this mistake doesn’t happen again, we run through what we can change moving forward.”
Victoria continued by saying she wouldn’t punish an employee financially. She’s also right to take time to talk with the person about the impact the mistake had on the business. There’s no reason to dance around that in the name of being nice. It’s better to be constructive.
Cheryl Luckett said, in part:
“It’s important to cultivate a workplace environment where employees feel that it’s OK to make a mistake, or to have an idea or a suggestion that fails. It’s often the mistakes, missteps and failures that help us learn and grow.”
She emphasized the need to learn from mistakes — and reminds us that we’re all human and we all make mistakes.
Martin Goddard talked about blame being “the easy path,” but he chooses the more constructive one:
‘How can we move forward while learning for the next time?’
I also appreciated what Jennifer Vertutto had to add, in part:
“Employees are encouraged to share mistakes promptly, allowing us to address issues swiftly and collaboratively. Instead of placing blame, we focus on understanding the root cause of the mistake.”
If leaders encourage people to speak up and share mistakes… but then punish them, employees will learn to keep quiet. And then we can’t learn and improve.
Rachael Grochowski takes responsibility for everything that happens in her business, which is a winning leadership trait:
“As principal, every mistake comes back to me.”
Check out the entire article to read more of their fantastic thoughts on this.
Check out this episode of “My Favorite Mistake” with interior design business owner Shirley Novack as she discusses mistakes she’s made and mistakes her employees make:
Respond promptly without pretending to have every answer
Acknowledge the report and establish what needs attention now. Is a client waiting for an update? Could an order, installation, or handoff continue with incorrect information? Decide what needs to pause or be checked while you understand the problem.
You do not need a complete solution before responding. Explain what you know, what you still need to find out, who will take the next step, and when you will update the people affected. Silence can leave both employees and clients guessing.
Discuss the impact and the conditions that contributed
The designers’ comments show why learning and accountability belong together. A mistake can create cost, delay, or frustration. Talk about that impact clearly, then examine what made the mistake possible.
Were the specifications clear? Was the latest revision easy to identify? Did responsibility change hands without a clear handoff? These are questions to investigate with the people involved, not assumptions about what caused a particular mistake.
For more on the leader’s part in that discussion, see looking inward instead of blaming and shaming others.
Make reporting safe and worthwhile
Inviting people to report mistakes is only part of the work. If reporting leads to ridicule, people may hesitate. If nothing happens afterward, they may stop expecting a response. Psychological safety supports candor; follow-through shows why candor matters.
Close the conversation with a concrete next step: what will change, who will help, and when you will check whether it worked. If an idea cannot be used, explain why. Employees should not have to guess whether their concern disappeared.
For a recurring error, look beyond another reminder to be careful. A clearer approval process or a way to flag an outdated specification might help, depending on the cause. Read about mistake-proofing for the broader principle: make the work easier to do correctly.
Bring a useful conversation to your team
Start with a free preview of The Mistakes That Make Us. See how the book approaches learning, accountability, and improvement before deciding whether it is right for you.
Prefer to listen? Choose a My Favorite Mistake episode to discuss with your team. To explore these ideas together, bring Mark to your organization or event.