Every leader must understand that correction is not about you asserting dominance or venting frustration. Correction is about enabling team members to get better, to improve their character, their attitude, and their approach to work. When your correction damages rather than develops, you have failed as a leader regardless of whether you were right about the mistake or not. Leaders must know that the goal of correction is improvement and not humiliation. The leader is not correcting someone to prove how smart he is and how incompetent the team members are, the leader is correcting because he sees potential in them and he wants to help them reach it.

Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the most successful football managers in history has a peculiar way of handling his players. Ferguson was famous for what became known as “the hairdryer treatment” in football. It is an intense, close-range criticism that left players in no doubt about their shortcomings. But here is what people often miss: Ferguson knew each player intimately. He knew who could handle public criticism and who needed private conversations. He knew when to challenge and when to encourage. His players never doubted that his corrections, however fierce, came from a desire to make them better. David Beckham, Roy Keane, and Cristiano Ronaldo are players who experienced Ferguson’s demanding standards. They speak of him with reverence because they knew he was building them and not breaking them.

When a departmental head calls someone careless, stupid, incompetent, or lazy, he is not describing their behaviour but attacking their identity. And when you attack someone’s identity, they stop hearing your message. They go into defensive mode. All their energy shifts from “how do I fix this?” to “how do I protect myself from this person?” Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft speaks about the concept of a “growth mindset” versus a “fixed mindset.” In a growth mindset, mistakes are opportunities to learn. In a fixed mindset, mistakes are evidence of permanent inadequacy. When you call someone names, you are reinforcing a fixed mindset. You are telling them, “This is who you are, and you cannot change.” Name calling will never improve anyone.

Correcting a team member in public to shame them is not a good leadership trait. In fact, it is one of the most destructive things a leader can do. Public correction serves one purpose: to make an example of someone. And while you might think you are sending a message to the rest of the team about standards, here is what they hear: “If I make a mistake, I will be humiliated.” The result is not higher performance; it is a culture of fear, cover-ups, and self-protection. Leaders must follow the principle of “praise in public, criticize in private.” Dignity matters. When you strip someone of their dignity in front of their peers, you do damage that is difficult to repair.

There is no justification for a correction that ends up demoralizing an individual. If your correction leaves someone feeling worthless rather than motivated to improve, you have not led but you have damaged them. And damage is easier to inflict than it is to repair. When Anne Mulcahy, former CEO of Xerox took over, the company was on the brink of bankruptcy. Mistakes were everywhere. Strategic mistakes, operational mistakes and financial mistakes all abound. Mulcahy could have spent her time assigning blame and demoralizing the people responsible. Instead, she spent her time rallying people around a turnaround plan. She addressed problems directly and honestly, but always with the message: “We can fix this together.”

That approach rebuilt confidence across the organization and ultimately saved the company. The tone of your message of correction is also important if the motive is to help develop the team member. You can say the exact same words with two different tones and get completely different results. “We need to talk about this mistake” said with genuine concern opens a conversation. The same sentence said with contempt and sarcasm slams the door before the conversation even begins. A harsh word can undo encouragement, whereas a supportive approach can build bridges of trust.

Constructive feedback is akin to nurturing a plant. Too much sun can scorch, while too much water can drown it. Leaders must strike a balance, delivering feedback that is candid yet considerate.

Alan Mulally at Ford used regular, face-to-face Business Plan Review meetings where issues were called out plainly but without finger-pointing. Leaders reported problems but the focus was on solutions and support. The result was transparency, collective problem-solving, and the rebuilding of an organisation under stress. Finally, correction should build confidence. When people are corrected with care, specific guidance, and a belief that they can improve, they are more likely to take responsibility, innovate, and stay loyal. When correction becomes a tool of humiliation, you lose not only the moment but future discretionary effort. Rebuild the man, not damage the man. That simple principle distinguishes great leaders. Use correction to create competence, courage and commitment.

Oluwole Dada is the General Manager at SecureID Limited, Africa’s largest smart card manufacturing plant in Lagos, Nigeria.