Two Types Of Mistakes. Only One Should Worry You

In sport they split mistakes into two buckets.

Skill errors.

Effort errors.

A skill error happens when someone tries the right move but doesn’t yet have the skill to pull it off.

The pass goes loose.

The timing is off.

The read is late.

It’s not ideal, but it’s fixable.

In rugby, Brendan Venter used to say you never punish that.

You train the skill.

You drill it.

You coach it until it’s clean.

Then there’s the other kind of mistake.

The one that rots a team from the inside.

The effort error.

Slow to get off the ground.

Jogging when you should chase.

Switching off when the team needs you switched on.

No spark.

No intent.

That’s not a skill gap.

That’s a standards gap.

You can’t coach effort into someone who won’t show up for the team.

Because effort is a choice, not a capability.

Brendan explained it in a way that completely flips how most leaders think about mistakes.

He told his players:

Effort errors are on you.  Skill errors are on me. 

In other words.

If the skill isn’t there yet, the coach owns it.

Now look at your team.

Most leaders treat all mistakes as the same messy blob called “failure.”

So they scold the wrong things and ignore the right things.

They yell at the nervous junior learning a new system.

Skill error.

And they stay silent when the senior drifts through the week delivering things “when they get around to it.”

Effort error.

That’s how cultures decay.

Not from the bad pass.

From the person who never bothered to chase it.

In business, we disguise effort errors with pretty words.

“We’re overwhelmed.”

“We’re short on resources.”

“We’re adjusting priorities.”

Sometimes true.

Often not.

Skill errors need coaching, time, reps, context, and support.

That’s your job as a leader.

Show the path and help them move from shaky to sharp.

Effort errors need something else.

Standards.

A clear expectation everyone understands without a meeting.

A line that doesn’t bend just because someone is having a slow Tuesday.

Teams want that more than you think.

Because it tells them the load will be shared, not dumped on the few who care most.

The best teams aren’t the ones with the most talent.

They’re the ones with the cleanest effort.

Your job isn’t to be liked.

It’s to build a team where effort is the floor, not the ceiling.

Where trying and failing is fine.

Where failing to try is not.

If you want real performance, separate the two errors.

Coach skill.

Demand effort.

That’s how teams grow teeth.

PS. If you don’t know jewellery, know your jeweller. That’s Buffett’s rule. It’s the same with messaging. Smart ideas die in boring words. If you don’t know the game, find a partner who does, because your reputation is on the line. I help thinkers, rebels, and disruptors say what they mean and make it stick.  Step up. Bring your message. I’ll bring the punch. You’ve got one shot to say it right. I’ll help you take it.