Learning from Mistakes Framework

Mistakes don’t define you. How you respond to them does. Every mistake hides a lesson. This framework will help you uncover it. Whether you’re running a business, leading a team, or managing your own life, navigating challenges can feel like uncharted waters. Mistakes happen, but they’re where the magic of growth begins. Let me share a simple framework that changed the way I approach challenges. It's based off of the U.S. Army’s After Action Review method. This framework can help you take any 'failure' - in business, leadership, or life - and turn it into wisdom through 5 reflective questions: 1/ What was planned? ↳ Set clear business goals and success metrics. Example: "We planned to increase website traffic by 50% in Q1 through a targeted social media ad campaign, with a clear focus on driving sign-ups for our newsletter." 2/ What actually unfolded? ↳ Track your progress honestly. ↳ Note both wins and setbacks. Example: "The campaign doubled website traffic, but only 10% of visitors signed up for the newsletter. Additionally, most clicks came from an unexpected age group (18-24)." 3/ What did you learn? ↳ Identify gaps between expectations and reality. ↳ Uncover growth opportunities. Example: "We discovered that our messaging resonated with a younger demographic, which wasn’t our original target audience. The landing page design was also too cluttered, which likely discouraged sign-ups." 4/ What can you do differently next time? ↳ Use your insights to shape a clear strategy. ↳ Create concrete action steps. Example: "We’ll redesign the landing page with a clean, minimal layout and a clearer call-to-action. We’ll also create personalised ads to better target both our intended audience and the younger demographic who engaged." 5/ Where can we try these new ideas next time? ↳ Identify upcoming business decisions. ↳ Apply your insights immediately. Example: "We’ll apply these changes to our next product launch campaign. Specifically, we’ll use the improved landing page design and split-test targeted ads to ensure higher engagement and conversion." Here’s what I want you to remember: ↳ Every challenge you face is shaping you into a stronger, more resilient leader - whether in business, leadership, or life. ↳ You have the power to learn, grow, and improve every time. ⤵️ What’s the most important lesson a mistake has taught you? ♻️ Know someone navigating challenges? Share this post to help them turn mistakes into their next breakthrough. 🔔 Follow me, Jen Blandos, for more practical tips on business growth and leadership.

Regret your candour with the boss? Made a careless blunder that will cost the company a lot of money? Ignore a minor problem that now puts your credibility at risk? You’re not alone. Everyone I know makes mistakes. Many of them are also leaders, doers, trailblazers and have profit from making mistakes. James Joyce says mistakes are the portals of discovery and the management literature abounds with many articles advocating that mistakes can be a good thing. But there is a caveat - whilst making mistakes is part of working life, learning from them and managing their consequences requires integrity and skills. We all make mistakes and if managed poorly, mistakes will damage our reputation and career. This is especially true when we are at vulnerable points in our career like when we are just at the beginning of our career or starting a new role, or trying to win over a new manager. So how does one respond when one makes a significant mistake? Many wish the mistake would not be noticed, or are gripped by fear that prompts poor decisions. The key is to replace wishful thinking and fear with taking control of the situation. This can be achieved by a four-step approach. 1. Own up. But tread carefully especially if the company has a culture of blame-shifting - it's important to pick your moment and find allies. But whatever you do, own up before your hand is forced. And own up properly - admit the mistake and don't make excuses. 2. Improvement. Shift the focus from blaming people to improving processes by doing an objective assessment to identify root causes and process improvements so the same mistake will not happen again. Also articulate accurately the consequences of the mistake and recommend specific actions to mitigate its impact. 3. Permission. Share how you would implement the mitigation measures and improvements, and get approval to proceed. So from being the person who made the mistake, you become the person who eliminates mistakes. 4. Compassion. Have compassion for yourself. Recognise that A. mistakes likely happen when you strive for growth and push for performance, B. You can learn from this experience and reduce the chances of mistakes, Whilst we can't make an omelette without breaking eggs, we can learn, be better and never make the same mistake. Agree?

Failing well unlocks growth. But setbacks test one's learning capacity. Failures are part of any journey which often stays unseen or unnoticed. They usually do not define the journey as success does. What is crucial though are the lessons that are extracted after the fall. Converting failure into rocket fuel for success demands methodical review, identifying contributing factors dispassionately and gathering external perspectives revealing overlooked weak spots. This post-mortem fuels a shift from self-defeat to self-education. Setbacks become masterclasses in success rather than endings. Each setback strengthens judgment to refine strategies and evade future failures. How to extract lessons from failures: Conduct autopsy reviews Surgically analyze contributing factors without self-judgment. Embrace external perspectives revealing overlooked issues. This failure autopsy supplies data to update approaches. Shift mindsets from defeat to education Reframe downfalls as invaluable real-time masterclasses rather than endings. Develop resilience by extracting lessons that enrich strategies to avoid repeats. Set evolved goals informed by new wisdom. Make changes and experiment Leverage autopsy findings to re-calibrate tactics and plans. Then test new methods unafraid. Experimentation unearths workarounds while preventing strategic stagnation. Share learned lessons Document and share key takeaways openly with others. This builds organizational learning capacity as teams gain from your trials. Failing well unlocks innovation. In closing, remarkable success links directly to one’s ability to learn from failures faced. Growth flows from informed adjustments, community support and unbroken self-belief. Mine your setbacks for game-changing lessons. For within every downfall, the seeds of transcendence await rediscovery by those bold enough to rise.

I don’t understand the shame associated with making mistakes. No one is perfect. No one delivered high-quality work on their first attempt. High-quality work IS the outcome of mistakes reflected upon. Use the RISE framework to turn any mistake into progress: R – Recognize Identify the mistake clearly without defensiveness. I – Investigate Ask why it happened. Was it a skill gap, a misunderstanding, or a process flaw? S – Synthesize Turn the insight into a principle or takeaway. E – Execute Differently Apply the learning immediately in your next project or task. Making mistakes is not the mistake. Not learning from them is. Quote from the book: It Always Seems Impossible Until It's Done. PS: If you found this helpful, I share more insights to help you build a growth mindset. Follow along if you’re on the same journey.

Don't Let Yesterday's Choices Haunt You. Ever made a decision you regretted? We have all been there Pouring energy, time, and sometimes even our reputation into a decision. Maybe it was; -A hire that didn’t work out -A launch that backfired -Or a partnership that felt right until it didn’t It’s easy to move on, but here is the thing most people don’t do. -Stop. -Reflect. -Rethink. If you want to make better decisions, you can’t keep rushing toward the next one without investigating what went wrong before. Here are six ways on how to apply lessons from past decisions: 1. Define the problem clearly  - Before you solve anything—step back. We often confuse what we want to happen with what’s actually broken. 2. Identify stress factors and biases -Stress narrows our thinking. It nudges us to stick with “safe bets,” repeat old patterns, or avoid risk altogether. 3. Analyze past mistakes -Identify one or two previous decisions that didn’t go well and determine the reason behind those failures. 4. Examine your assumptions -Look closely at what you believed going into those decisions. Challenge those beliefs. 5. Apply lessons to the current decisions -Look for patterns in past decisions to adjust your approach. -Make changes to your process based on insights gained. 6. Implement a new solution -Now you’re ready. Not because you have a perfect candidate or plan, but because you have a better process. So next time you’re faced with a big decision, don’t just ask “What should I do?” Ask:  -What did I miss last time?  -What am I assuming?  -What can I do differently right now? Want help applying this framework to a current challenge? Drop a comment or DM me. Let's think it through together Like this post? Follow for more leadership insights. [Source: HBR- How to Learn from Your Mistakes and Make Better Decisions, Cheryl Strauss Einhorn]

We tend to see mistakes as setbacks. But what if you treated them as data? Reframing errors as information changes everything. Instead of being a dead end, mistakes become feedback that helps you refine your approach. Psychologists call this error-based learning. Our brains update most effectively when there’s a gap between what we expected and what actually happened. That “mismatch” creates the conditions for growth. The key is how you respond: 💠 Pause and notice the mistake without judgement 💠 Ask: What is this telling me about my approach, skills, or assumptions? 💠 Adjust and try again with the new insight This shift takes you out of a perfection mindset and into a growth mindset. Instead of fearing mistakes, you start using them to fuel progress. 💡 Next time something doesn’t go to plan, treat it like an experiment. What’s the data, and how can you use it to improve? What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from a mistake? ————————————————————— 🔔 Follow for science-backed tools for sustainable success.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵… 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲? Too many leaders create cultures where people are afraid to mess up. They think if we just prevent errors, success will follow automatically. But fear doesn’t fuel performance, it quietly paralyzes your team’s potential. I once led a team. We did things differently. At every All Hands, team members stood up, shared a recent mistake, explained what happened, and reflected on what they learned. Then came the applause. Not for the error, but for the courage, the honesty, and the willingness to grow in public. It built trust. It sparked momentum. It shaped a team unafraid to experiment, take risks, and stretch beyond their comfort zone. Mistakes happen. They’re not the problem. The real danger is a culture that hides them, fears them, or punishes them. But when your team sees mistakes as invitations to grow, they show up with more creativity, more ownership, and more bold innovation than you thought possible. If you're a leader, flip the fear: Start normalizing mistake-sharing, make it safe, respectful, and public. Frame errors as case studies, not career-enders. Celebrate the learning, not just the wins. And make one thing clear: repeated neglect isn’t okay, but learning is essential to thrive. The best leaders don’t fear mistakes. They build cultures where learning from mistakes becomes second nature and the foundation for everything great that follows. ♻️ 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄.   #LeadershipDevelopment #PsychologicalSafety #GrowthCulture #FearlessTeams