The true test of leadership isn't avoiding mistakes—it's how you respond when they happen. This episode is a guide to leading yourself through those critical moments. Through their own stories of fumbles and flawed decisions, Jonas and Christian show how self-reflection and transparency can transform a simple error into your most valuable experience.

Episode summary:

In product leadership, making mistakes is an unavoidable part of taking risks. This episode explores the idea that the true measure of a leader isn't avoiding errors, but how they respond to them. The hosts discuss different types of mistakes—from simple oversights to avoiding necessary conflict—and offer a framework for handling them: stop, reflect, plan, and, most importantly, communicate transparently. Sharing learnings builds trust and transforms errors into invaluable experience, unlike "happy path" work.

Through personal 'war stories,' they explore the painful consequences of delaying tough people decisions, ignoring fundamental disagreements with a boss for months, and overlooking technical 'data drift' in a machine learning system.

Ultimately, the conversation emphasizes that leaders must model this behavior. By openly discussing their own fumbles, they create a culture where it's safe for teams to fail and learn. The key takeaway is to embrace mistakes and deal with them constructively, as they are the primary fuel for career progression and leadership evolution.