Have you ever been given a second chance?
A do-over, a “let’s try that again” moment?
Earlier this year, I needed to request a transcript from the University of Manitoba. When it arrived, I had to laugh (or shake my head), not because of how it ended, but because of how it started.
Straight out of high school, I enrolled in a joint Business Teacher Education program between Red River College and the U of M. That first year? I was more focused on beer bashes than textbooks. 😉 By year-end, I’d barely passed and didn’t meet the requirements to continue.
But instead of writing me off, the head of the program, Jim MacKay, gave me a path back. He told me he thought I was special and that I had a strong career ahead, but given my behaviour, I didn’t deserve to move forward. He offered me the opportunity to prove that I wanted to be there; I would need to work in the continuing education college admissions office for the summer, unpaid. Show up every day, do great work and learn. I did just that (and loved the experience), and I earned the right to continue. More importantly, I learned what it means to be given a second chance and what it takes to earn one.
In our work with executive teams, I see the importance of second chances all the time. Especially on teams that have been through change, where trust has been tested, roles have shifted, or alignment is off.
Biases play a big role here. Jim could’ve let his first impression of me stick, anchoring bias in action, where we let an early impression define how we see someone moving forward. He could have focused only on what I got wrong, negativity bias, where the mistakes outweigh any potential. But he didn’t. He saw me. And that allowed me to grow.
That’s the thing: we all stumble. But what defines us is what happens next.
For teams, second chances aren’t about pretending everything is fine. It’s about honesty, accountability, and a commitment to doing things differently.
When those things are in place, a second chance – offered to a leader, a peer, or even the team itself – can be the start of real progress. Rebuilding. Reconnecting. Resetting.
And that matters.
