Stand beside the junior person when it goes wrong

Career · Little Light original

A junior colleague makes a visible mistake on work you approved. The client is upset, senior leaders want an explanation, and it would be easy to describe exactly which part belonged to them. The facts may be true. The order in which you tell them reveals something else. Begin with your responsibility. You assigned the work, set the conditions, and had the authority to review or intervene. Protecting someone from humiliation does not mean hiding the error or preventing them from learning. Repair the outcome together, explain what will change, and give feedback privately enough that it can be heard. They can own their action without being left alone with the organisation's disappointment. People remember what authority does when their confidence is most fragile. Stand close when the work goes wrong. Later, when the immediate heat has passed, help them build the judgment that might prevent a repeat. Accountability should make the next attempt stronger, not make one person convenient to abandon.

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