Fernando was in a quandary. His newest team member, Paul, made a major mistake on a batch run that was due for shipping this afternoon. QC had pulled a sample, then more samples, eventually, the whole batch.

It was time for an accountability conversation. Fernando knew that Paul was inexperienced, yet showed great promise with a terrific attitude. The mistake would cost about $3,000 in scrap and another $1000 in re-run time. Paul had a great attitude, but this clearly could not happen again.

How was Fernando to talk to Paul without creating defensiveness? How to make sure that Paul would not repeat the behavior again? A passing comment would not work, light-heartedness would not communicate the seriousness of the situation.

Fernando decided to talk about a mistake that he once made. By talking about his own mistake, he could go really deep; describe the details, the consequences, the corrective action. He could talk about emotions, impact on the team, accepting responsibility. By talking about himself, Fernando could lay it all out, without creating a defensive response from Paul.

If Paul does not get defensive, is there a greater likelihood that he will actually take corrective action, change his behavior? -TF

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