As the middle managers experienced mistakes as an important tool to learn, the data indicated that learning could be divided into two dimensions: individual and organizational. The middle managers highlighted that for an employee a mistake offers a unique opportunity to improve their own practices and assumptions. This recognition is important because as Moser, Schroder, Heeter, Moran and Lee (2011) found out, there are two different kinds of mind-sets on how to handle mistakes. There are people who believe intelligence is unchangeable (fixed mind-set) and
people who think that intelligence is adaptive, and it can be developed with learning (growth mind-set). These two mind-sets also react very differently to mistakes. Employees with fixed set view mistake as evidence of their lack of ability whereas employees with growth mind-set see mistakes as potentially educational feedback and therefore, they will probably learn from their mistakes. (Moser et al. 2011.)
In their narratives, the middle managers felt that instead of feeling shame, the whole event could courage an employee or even be good to their self-esteem, as Middle managers F and J points out.
“I encourage the employee to take as much responsibility of what happened as possible. I feel that this empowers them after making a mistake.” (Middle manager F)
“If we have lost a client because of the mistake, I prefer to find out if we could process the whole thing also with the particular client. It requires courage from the employee, but I believe that could be very good for his/her self-esteem”
(Middle manager J)
In order to learn from the mistakes, the middle managers also identified that it is crucial to openly talk about mistakes. Open discussion was highlighted both between a manager and an employee and in the whole organization. Middle manager I brings up that situations should be gone through between the employee and the manager, but the manager also should share the information and learning to colleagues. All in all, the data indicated that a mistake can benefit the whole organization if it opens up the discussion.
“If a mistake is that kind that it can happen to anyone, it is crucial to share it to the whole team. Also, other managers need to know what has happened so that they can share information. When this is done, together everyone may find a very good solution to improve actions.” (Middle manager I)
Middle managers also highlighted that if it´s not possible or reasonable to share the mistake to the whole organization, mistakes should be discussed at least on the team level. Middle managers also emphasized in their stories that the open discussion should be done in a delicate way and only after the situation is thoroughly discussed and analyzed with the employee who made the mistake. It was also highlighted that there should not be a need to point fingers to the mistake-maker or put the blame on somebody as Middle manager C points out.
“It is fundamental to remember (in the conversations) that we are not trying to find the guilty one for the mistake but rather the reasons behind the mistake.”
(Middle Manager C)
This same idea was fostered also by Tjosvold and colleagues (2004) as they stated that open problem solving is more probable to create positive team outcomes and encourage learning from mistakes. Cannon and Edmondson (2001, 168) highlighted that a clear guidance may enable open discussion about mistakes. In practice this means that the employees know what the mistake actually is and how it will be disclosed and discussed in their organization.
After individual learning, open discussions and information sharing, the whole organization should be able to learn from the mistakes. According to the middle managers, mistakes offer a situation where it is time to think if there are some errors in procedures or systems that need to be fixed. This same idea was fostered also by Carmeli and Sheaffer (2008), as they pointed out that organizations often detect and correct mistakes but the real causes for mistakes stay unnoticed.
The middle managers also felt that an open discussion about a mistake can bring up new point of views or even criticism toward current situation. All of this might have stayed undisclosed without mistakes. This is why it is important that employees report all type of mistakes because without reporting managers won´t know if a specific organizational procedure or reward courages employees to make more mistakes than others (Zhao and Olivera 2006). This same idea is fostered in Middle managers B and C narratives as they highlighted that mistakes should be processed also in team level.
“When the situation is handled thoroughly with the employee and it is considered if there is anything left to do or do we steer our thoughts to the future, it is time to consider whether the same mistake could happen to someone else. Then it is reasonable to go through the mistake with the whole team.” (Middle manager B)
“For the learning I encourage the employee to bring the case to the whole team so that information about possible challenges or problem opens up also to others.”
(Middle manager C)