Leadership Wisdom of the Week #24

“Expect anything… And above all, keep your cool.”

– Commissaire Maigret (La Tête d’un homme, Georges Simenon ; translated from the French)

What does a senior police officer say to a young team member who has just lost track of a potential murderer? Does he focus on the mistake – or help the young inspector regain his composure and focus on what needs to happen next?

This summer, I decided to freshen up my French by reading some of my favourite detective stories in their original language. If you have ever studied French, mentioning the passé simple may be enough for you to understand the challenge of returning to it after a long break… Yet it was a real pleasure. The French dialogue brought out Maigret’s distinctive character particularly well: quiet and reflective, yet extremely astute.

This particular novel – one of my favourite Maigret stories – is a great illustration of what we can achieve through patience and persistence. It begins with Maigret suspecting that the police have arrested the wrong man for a capital crime and arranging for the condemned man to escape so that he can reinvestigate the case. I won’t say any more about the plot in case you wish to read it yourself.

In keeping with the quote, the book is all about accepting that we can make mistakes and correcting them when we recognise them. The whole story is built around Maigret’s ability to accept that he may have made a mistake that could result in the wrong man being executed – and his determination to work day and night to put it right. This week’s quote also highlights how he responds when a member of his team gets something wrong: such moments are inevitable, but they should not stop us from continuing towards our goals. We learn from what happened and resume our pursuit.

It is easy to hide the mistakes we make – even from ourselves. Yet when mistakes remain hidden, we lose the opportunity to learn from them. Small problems may grow into bigger ones, and the effort of hiding them can gradually erode our confidence in ourselves.

In Maigret’s case, it was about helping his young inspector accept what had happened, regain his composure and focus on the next step. The mistake mattered, but dwelling on it would not help them solve the case. Mistakes require us to do two things at once: learn from what happened and remain calm enough to take the next right step.

How do you respond when someone in your team makes a mistake? Do you add to the pressure – or create the calm they need to learn, regain their focus and move forward?