How to Help Your Employees Overcome Failure

By: Kathy Kent Toney, CEO & Founder of Kent Business Solutions

Image by Roy Harryman

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As a business leader, have you encountered situations where you weren’t sure how to encourage a good employee after a major failure to get them back on track?

If so, I’d love to share with you some tips inspired by the Kansas City Chiefs' recent victory in the AFC Championship game. Their third trip to the Super Bowl in four years would not be possible without a handful of players who struggled for much of the season by turning it around in this game.

1. Don’t Give Up on Your Employees

Rookie Skyy Moore started off the season returning kicks with little success. They pulled him from return duty yet kept working with him behind the scenes to improve.

With multiple punt returners unavailable due to injuries, the coaches brought Skyy into a tie game to return a punt with less than a minute to go. Not only did he catch the ball, he ran it back for a big gain to put the Chiefs in great field position for the eventual game-winning field goal. 

Tip #1: After big failures, let your employees know you still believe in them. Give them guidance, or training if needed, in areas of weakness that can help prevent them from making similar mistakes again.

2. Continue to Cast a Vision for Their Future 

Kansas City's defense is loaded with rookies this season. KC’s coaches threw them into the fire, telling them they were going to be a big part of the team. Not surprisingly, these rookies made plenty of mistakes that resulted in numerous penalties and opponent touchdowns. But the coaches kept them in the fire, trusting they would eventually succeed.

In the biggest game of the season, they did turn things around and came up with HUGE plays that directly contributed to the Chiefs winning the game.  

Tip #2: Continue to cast a vision of where you see your employees going despite any mistakes they make. And after big miscues, let them know you still want to help them on the growth journey you’ve started together.

3. Express Confidence in Their Ability to Succeed
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Harrison Butker is one of best kickers in the game; however, he’s had his worst season to date. Due to a sprained ankle, he missed three games, and when he returned, he missed a lot of field goals and extra points.

With the game tied and a few seconds left on the clock, the Chiefs confidently sent Butker into the game to kick the game-winning field goal, and the rest is history.

Tip #3: Let your employees know that any past failures they’ve had are in the past and that you have complete confidence in their ability to succeed.  


Speaking of overcoming failure, how many of you have had projects go south because of poor project management?  

That’s where I love to help! I excel in quickly organizing projects and rallying your teams to accomplish them in quick order with tremendous success.

If you’re interested in learning more, I’d love to schedule a chat with you! Click the button below to get started.

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Click the button below to schedule a chat with Kathy!

Schedule a 15-Minute Chat

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