The truth is that the community at large is judging your business by the behavior and performance of your employees. And while that’s true offline, it’s become even more visible online as the lines between personal and professional blur, as fleeting communications are all too easy to toss out without a thought (and sometimes with consequential error), and as context becomes increasingly difficult to wrap around each point of communication.

So, what happens when someone screws up?

How do you as a business leader cope when a member of your team makes an error in judgment? What if you’re the one that erred?

If You’re the Offender

Obviously, knowing you’ve screwed up is half the battle. G.I. Joe would attest to that. That takes a certain level of self awareness and humility. Me? I’ve done it. Without question. Many of us have, whether it’s a little oops or a larger mishap with some consequences. So when it happens, quick and decisive action is what’s needed, along with a solid helping of mea culpa.

1. Acknowledge it.

Illustrating to your community, customers, or team that you recognize what happened is a huge step. And most failed attempts at saving face miss this step entirely. A simple “I really wish I’d handled that differently” to the people your behavior affected can immediately diffuse an intense situation, and help others see that you too are capable of seeing when you might have left a bit of a mess.

If you’re confronted about your behavior, don’t make excuses for it. Don’t deny it. Just own it, and reiterate that you’d like to address it.

2. Apologize.

Apologizing is not the same as accepting fault or blame for something. That’s important to bear in mind, because you can still apologize for the way you said something, the actions you took, or the way you chose to handle a situation without having to renege on your position. Most often, when someone offends us, it’s not because their opinion or ideas differ, but because of the way those opinions were delivered to us. Start there.

If something you’ve said or done has done damage – either real or perceived – to someone else, then apologizing sincerely and without qualifiers or excuses is paramount. Do it directly, either to the group you affected, or personally to an individual or individuals. If blame is warranted, take it like a grown up. Say you’re sorry for the harm you caused. Sincerely, with contrition. Mean it.

3. Be Accountable.

Consequences suck, but they’re real. If it’s a minor transgression – say, a poorly worded communication that rubbed someone the wrong way – accept that you might be under a bit more watchful eye in the short term. Vet your communications a little more carefully with the boss when warranted, or articulate a plan for how you’ll avoid those types of things in the future (i.e. I’ll keep my personal Twitter account in a separate application to avoid a potential misfire, or I’ll save every email in draft for 10 minutes before sending to give me time to review). Get involved in any team-based solutions or plans to correct the problem.

If your screwup costs you your job or your account, even if you’re the scapegoat, exit gracefully (barring serious legal matters, which are excepted here). Burning bridges doesn’t help, nor does pleading. Hold your head high, apologize for the consequences that occurred because of the events, and do your best to maintain your dignity and professionalism while you sever ties. There will be other jobs, but you only have one reputation, and it needs some TLC in a moment like this.

4. Take stock and move on.

Reliving something that goes awry doesn’t make it disappear or go away. Review what happened as soon as possible after the imminent crisis settles, either individually or as a team. Document the mistakes as clinically and unemotionally as possible so that you can recognize their potential in future situations. If you can, offer recommendations for working these things into a communications plan, crisis response plan, or employee guidelines if they can be helpful or educational for others.

The goal here is to learn, not self-flaggelate. And realize that time and distance are what help these things fade.

If You’re The Boss

It can be hard to be at the helm when someone on your team or on your consultative payroll shanks one. But as a leader, you need to demonstrate awareness, action, and momentum in the wake of something unpleasant.

1. Acknowledge the screw up.

Even if you aren’t the one that misfired, you’re accountable for those that did. Which means you need to own the mistake on behalf of the company as well as your team. If it’s possible to publicly acknowledge what happened, do so, and do so in the places where the issue occurred (i.e. if the screwup happened on your Facebook page, use that media to engage and respond in addition to others). You don’t have to accept fault, but you do have to acknowledge that whatever happened might have offended, inconvenienced, or otherwise impacted other people. That way, they know you’re plugged into what’s going on around you, and not avoiding it.

Barring the need to involve legal counsel for such situations, private acknowledgements to any affected parties – colleagues, customers, clients – are encouraged, too.

2. Have a private conversation with the offender.

Public shaming does nothing for anyone.

If a member of your team showed poor taste, bad judgment, a tactical error or a combination of the above, pull them aside (trust me, they know it’s coming). Close the door or find somewhere neutral and private to talk. State the facts calmly as you know them, and reserve judgment at first. Ask your team member to explain their take on events, and their understanding of why things happened the way that they did. Write it all down, if it’s serious enough to warrant documenting (and that’s your call as a manager).

If they’re defensive, difficult, or confrontational, explain that it’s your job to understand and document the situation and you’d like to be sure their accounting is well and fairly represented. Keep yourself from matching their level of emotion.

If they’re apologetic, honest, and up front about the mistakes, thank them for their candor, and do your best to reassure them to whatever degree is appropriate. Explain any additional oversight you might request at this point and why, or articulate that your trust is still in tact but that you’re hoping to work with them to ensure that incidents don’t repeat.

3. Take firm but appropriate action.

Don’t wait to address potentially sticky situations. Take time to breathe and keep a level head, but get involved as soon as possible to assess the situation and determine what the next steps should be.

If you plan ahead, you should have some kind of escalation plan that will help you shortcut some process and procedures if you need to shut down an account, amend a website page, or make some quick phone calls or emails to respond to an emerging situation, whether publicly or . If it’s just an errant Facebook post or email that ticked someone off, simply taking step 2 above might be enough. If there’s an egregious or inflammatory incident at hand, quickly involve whatever management, client contacts, or other stakeholders that are necessary.

Worst case scenario: you need to fire an employee, a consultant, or a vendor for their transgression, get those wheels in motion sooner rather than later (if you can’t handle it immediately). The longer you wait, the more potential there is for gossip, perceived indecision, and lingering aftershocks both internally and externally.

4. Articulate the plan for the future.

Small or large, discuss the issue with everyone involved moving forward after the dust settles. Your team, your clients, your colleagues or your own bosses. Give a thorough but concise debrief of the situation, including what happened, when it occurred, your understanding of why or how it happened, and any other relevant facts (and do stick to the facts.).

If the issue is anything more than an individual error, talk to anyone who might need to answer questions – either internally or externally – about what happened. Give them appropriate and suitable responses, and be consistent.

Then, lay out what if any steps need to be taken to avoid similar incidents in the future. If the issue was isolated behavior of one employee or vendor, the only explanation and discussion might need to be with your own boss and let it pass. If more people were affected, you may need to articulate how you’ll all work together to prevent similar missteps.

5. Communicate more.

There’s a fine line between policing and coaching, but if an individual team member or vendor needs particular attention in the short term to get them back on the right track, don’t neglect it. Over-communicate with your team and your own leadership in the weeks following, and keep the tone positive and progressive, but keep your eyes open for patterns that might be close to repeating themselves (that’s how you diagnose a potential system weakness vs. simply one person’s mistake).

But this is the time to be sure you’re more present and connected, not less.

6. Let it go.

This can be the hardest part, but you can’t build a business or a team based solely on preventing the mistakes of the past. If you’ve addressed the situation and thought through how to prevent it later, you’ve done what you can. Focus on moving forward, not looking back, and if the fallout wasn’t severe, be sure to let the offending team members feel like they’re still part of a trusted team (they might need a bit more encouragement, actually).

A mistake doesn’t indicate a failed strategy, just a hiccup in tactical execution.

In Either Case

Recognize that, in most situations, errors and missteps are because of honest mistakes or momentary lapses in judgment. Malicious intent happens, but it’s the exception, not the rule in most cases. Deal with the issues appropriate to their impact, but unless you’re in the business of saving lives, you’re not.

Knowing that mistakes will happen is part of any business plan, and the sting of public social media gaffes can be sharp. But it’s usually temporary, and a great opportunity to understand, teach, and learn more about how people think and make decisions. What would you add to what we’ve discussed above?

Be prepared, stay calm, and remember that the dawn comes after even the worst of storms.

Good luck.

image by Cast a Line