The captain’s smallest reaction can decide whether an error becomes contagious.

After a mistake, everyone looks at the same person to find out how serious it was. A sigh, a turned back, a raised hand, and the error becomes a mood that spreads through the team. A nod and a return to position, and it stays what it was: one thing that went wrong. Leadership at that moment is largely a matter of face and posture.

If people take a reading from you, decide in advance what you want them to see when something fails. Keep the correction for later and keep the reaction small now. What you do in the next three seconds is the instruction they will follow.