Character Shows When Dealing with Mistakes

2026 Blog Series | Character Shows When Dealing With Mistakes

This true story was recounted to me by a colleague. The names have been changed.

Do you have your own story where good character was demonstrated, particularly when a mistake was made? Send it to kr@centreforcharacterleadership.com to be featured.

The Set Up

Martin had checked the announcement three times before sending it. The subject line was clear, the date was correct, and the message was brief enough that no one could complain. With one confident click, he sent it to all 4,500 employees.

The Mistake

Then he noticed it: the reply-to email address was wrong. Not just a little wrong. Completely wrong. Instead of responses going to the shared inbox, every question, complaint, thank-you, and “I think this was meant for someone else” would end up with a colleague who had nothing to do with the announcement.

For one long minute, Martin stared at the screen as though he could somehow pull the email back by willpower alone. Then his phone buzzed. It was Priya, the unfortunate owner of the mistaken inbox.

“Martin,” she said calmly, “I believe I’m now the official help desk for the entire company.”

His face immediately grew warm. “I’m so sorry. I’ll fix it.”

Within ten minutes, Martin sent out a corrected message, taking responsibility for the mistake and thanking everyone for their patience. He also stopped by Priya’s desk with a coffee and a promise to help sort through the replies.

Taking Responsibility

Later that afternoon, Martin went to his leader, Anika, to explain what had happened before she heard it from someone else. He expected a lecture, a crushing tongue-lashing, or at the very least, a long disappointed pause.

Instead, Anika looked at him and asked two simple questions.

“Did you fix it?”

“Yes,” Martin replied. “I sent the correction, apologized, and I’m helping Priya manage the replies.”

Anika nodded. “And what did you learn?”

Martin paused for a moment. “That moving quickly isn’t the same as being careful. And that one small field in an email can create a very big problem.”

Leadership Matters

Anika smiled. “Good. You did everything you could do.” She leaned back in her chair. “Years ago, I made a worse mistake. I accidentally included a competitor’s email address on a sensitive internal message. I still remember the feeling when I realized what I had done., and my boss’s destructive outrage. That ugly moment damaged my loyalty to that company.”

Martin looked up, surprised.

“The important thing,” she continued, “is not pretending mistakes don’t happen. It’s owning them quickly, fixing what you can, and changing your habits so the lesson sticks. Sounds like you did all of that. Thanks for letting me know.”

By noon, the flood had slowed. By two o’clock, people were joking about it. By the end of the day, Martin had learned three things: always test the return address, take responsibility quickly, and remember that even experienced leaders have made mistakes worth learning from.

Character will be shown by both the person making the mistake, and the leader by their response.