When good isn’t enough…

I had an urgent call this morning from a client.
An Employee Relations issue had gone wrong.

They’d heard of an inappropriate interaction a month ago. The escalation was choppy, but it still made its way through the right channels. The investigation had holes — but it was “good enough” to make a determination.
A resolution was found under the idea of “best attempt.”

Only, one stone had never been lifted.
And they learned about it this morning.

A key witness had gone out on emergency leave the night of the incident. That leave turned into bereavement leave, and a month later, that same witness returned to learn of a colleague’s fate from office gossip and couldn’t believe it.

He called HR immediately.

He hadn’t been in the meeting in question.
He wasn’t even part of that department.
He was simply stationed nearby, within earshot working quietly on a presentation.

When he returned, the story he overheard didn’t align with what he remembered hearing that day. So he reached out to share what he knew.

But he was met with:

“Thank you for advising us, but the case is complete and resolution was met to the best of our ability.”

Only, it wasn’t.

Logs showed he was there.
Visuals confirmed he could see and hear what happened.
But the ER manager never checked the surrounding area, only the attendee list.

And truthfully, how could they?
They were juggling multiple cases, short on systems, short on time, and likely doing their best.

Until now.
Because that witness? He called the suspended employee.
And now external counsel is coming in.

This isn’t about fear.
It’s about detail.

The small moments matter most.
And when we rush or rely on “best intent,” we miss opportunities for accuracy, fairness, and integrity.

Humans aren’t always fair, even with the best of intentions.
Sometimes it’s bandwidth. Sometimes it’s systems. Sometimes it’s just not asking one more question.

As I told my client today:

Leadership isn’t about getting it perfect.
It’s about creating the conditions where accuracy can thrive.

Always be asking:

• What more can be done?

• Who else might have seen or heard something?

• How can I make fairness more than an aspiration but a process?

That’s what growth in leadership looks like. Not perfection but evolution.