How Leadership Teams Explain Success (or Failure), And Why It Matters

In leadership teams, how you explain your collective successes or setbacks matters more than you might realise.

The reasons a leadership team gives for why things went well (or why they didn’t) can shape team motivation, confidence, and future performance. Over time, these patterns of explanation (called team attributions) help shape a team’s culture and resilience.

Let’s explore why this matters and how leaders can guide their teams toward healthier, more constructive thinking.

What Are Team Attributions?

Team attributions are the reasons a leadership group gives for its results. These explanations tend to fall into two broad types:

Internal attributions: explanations focused on what the team itself did, like effort, collaboration, preparation, or smart strategy.

“We succeeded because we stayed aligned, prepared thoroughly, and communicated well.”

“We fell short because we missed key signals, and we need to adjust how we track progress.”

External attributions: explanations focused on outside factors, like luck, the market, competitors, or organisational politics.

“We succeeded because the market was on our side.”

“We failed because the board didn’t back us, and external forces blocked progress.”

Why Does This Matter for Leadership Teams?

Research shows that when teams make internal attributions, they feel more ownership and control over outcomes. This boosts motivation, sharpens focus, and encourages continuous improvement.

By contrast, when teams make external attributions, they can slip into passivity or discouragement, feeling that success or failure is mostly down to factors beyond their control. This can sap energy, reduce accountability, and breed frustration.

The mindset your leadership team brings to interpreting results directly shapes how resilient, adaptive, and effective you can be moving forward.

How Can Leaders Foster Healthy Attribution Patterns?

Strong leaders help guide their teams to focus on what’s within their sphere of influence:

• Emphasise effort, preparation, and strategy when reviewing successes.

• Treat setbacks as learning opportunities, focusing on what the team can adjust or improve next time.

• Model balanced, constructive language. void blaming external forces, but also avoid unrealistic self-criticism.

• Encourage a growth mindset: remind the team that progress comes from learning and iteration, not perfection.

By helping teams focus on what they can control, leaders reinforce a culture of accountability, confidence, and continuous improvement.

Why This Connects to Performance

At The Performance Equation, we help leadership teams unlock their full performance by identifying potential, reducing interference, and focusing on what matters most. Part of that process is helping teams understand how their own thinking shapes outcomes and how adopting healthier, more constructive mindsets can clear the path for better results.

When teams focus on their own effort, alignment, and strategy, they strengthen not only their performance today but their resilience for the challenges ahead.

Want to Strengthen Your Leadership Team’s Focus and Resilience?

If you’re ready to help your leadership team build a stronger, more accountable, and growth-focused culture, we’d love to help.

➔Let’s start a conversation about unlocking your team’s performance.