A CIO’s Perspective: Lessons Learned – Building a Culture of Ownership and Growth

Mistakes happen. Systems fail, processes break, and sometimes decisions don’t deliver the intended results. It’s an uncomfortable truth, but how a business responds to these moments defines its ability to grow, adapt, and succeed.

In many cases, the instinct is to assign blame. While understandable, this reaction is counterproductive. Blame creates fear, silences teams, and stifles innovation. Instead, we need to cultivate a culture where saying, “I made a mistake” or “I need help” is seen as a strength, not a weakness.

When Things Go Wrong: Learning Over Blame

The key to turning challenges into opportunities is not perfection. It’s the ability to learn, adapt, and grow. Here’s why this matters:

• IT Is Inherently Complex: Whether managing legacy systems or rolling out new technology, unexpected issues will arise. Acknowledging this reality is part of running a modern business.
• Blame Erodes Ownership: Fear of reprisal leads to defensiveness and finger-pointing, which distracts from solving the issue.
• Learning Drives Resilience: Every failure, if handled constructively, provides insight into how the business can prevent similar challenges in the future.

By fostering a safe environment where mistakes can be openly discussed, businesses empower teams to take ownership, collaborate, and innovate.

Embedding Lessons Learned Into The Business DNA

Creating a culture where teams are comfortable acknowledging mistakes requires leadership and deliberate action. Here’s how I've found this to be possible:

1. Lead by Example Leaders must model openness. When senior team members acknowledge their own mistakes, it normalises transparency across the business. This builds trust and encourages others to follow suit.
2. Replace Blame with Curiosity When something goes wrong, ask: “What can we learn from this?” Focus on uncovering the root cause and identifying solutions rather than assigning fault.
3. Establish a Lessons-Learned Framework Develop a clear process to review incidents:
4. Encourage Collaboration and Cross-Team Learning Use mistakes as opportunities for teams to train each other and share knowledge. For example, an issue in IT might reveal valuable insights for customer service or operations. By fostering collaboration, businesses can strengthen processes across all departments.
5. Celebrate Ownership Recognise and reward those who step forward to take responsibility. Ownership builds accountability and reinforces trust.

Lessons Learned in Action

Here’s an example:

A process failure led to a disruption in service delivery. Initially, the error wasn’t flagged due to fear of repercussions. However, when the team realised that the business encouraged openness, they raised the issue.

The review process revealed a skills gap in one area, which was addressed through cross-team training. This not only solved the immediate problem but also improved collaboration between departments.

The outcome? The business didn’t just fix the problem—it became stronger, more efficient, and better prepared for future challenges.

A Message to the Board

To senior leaders and board members: IT, like many functions, operates in a complex, ever-changing environment. Mistakes will happen. The critical question isn’t, “Why wasn’t this perfect?” but rather, “How can we stop this from happening again?”

Encouraging a culture of learning and collaboration doesn’t mean avoiding accountability; It strengthens it. When people feel safe to raise issues, they take greater ownership of their actions. This benefits not just IT but the entire business, ensuring stronger outcomes and better service for customers.

Turning Mistakes into Growth

When a business embeds lessons learned into its DNA, it creates a foundation for continuous improvement. This mindset:

• Builds trust between teams and leadership.
• Drives collaboration and cross-functional learning.
• Enhances customer satisfaction through resilient processes.

Mistakes will happen—it’s how we respond that defines us. By prioritising learning over blame and action over hesitation, businesses can create an environment where challenges drive growth, not fear.

How does your business approach mistakes? Do your teams feel empowered to own up, learn, and improve? Let’s share ideas on how to foster openness and collaboration for better outcomes.

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