Practice While Mistakes Are Recoverable

Before a skydive, we practice emergency procedures on the ground. That's where you can pause, get corrected and run through them again. You don't want your first rehearsal to happen when something has already gone wrong in the air.

I've been thinking about that since earning my USPA Coach rating earlier this year. We often do the opposite at work. We explain a process, maybe show someone an example and then the first time they have to make the call is when the deadline is slipping or a customer is waiting.

A better way to build judgment is to give people real decisions while the cost of a mistake is still recoverable. Tell them which parts are theirs to decide, what can't be compromised and when they should pull someone else in. Then let them make the call and talk through what happened.

Not every decision can be practiced that way. Some carry real safety, financial or customer risk. That's exactly why the boundaries matter.

People don't become ready for pressure because they sat through a longer explanation. They become readier when they have had a chance to practice with feedback before the stakes are high.