Latest / The Internal Move Podcast with Fexingo: Lateral Roles, Internal Transfers, and Staying at Your Company / How an Internal Transfer Can Let You Rebuild Trust After a Mistake
Transcript
- Lucas: So let's talk about something that doesn't get nearly enough attention in the internal transfer playbook: using a lateral move to rebuild trust after you've made a significant mistake at work. Luna: Oh, that's a heavy one. And surprisingly practical. Most people think a mistake means you're stuck — or that your only option is to leave the company entirely. Lucas: Exactly. And in many cases, a well-timed internal transfer can actually be a smarter move than quitting. I want to anchor this in a specific example I came across a few years ago. A marketing manager at a large consumer goods company — I'll call her Sarah — accidentally sent a draft of a product launch timeline to a trade journalist instead of her internal reviewer. Luna: Oof. That's the kind of mistake that gets forwarded to the CEO's office. Lucas: It did. The journalist ran the story early. The product team had to scramble, the PR team had to issue a non-denial denial. Sarah was mortified — and frankly, she expected to be fired. But the company had a progressive HR culture, and instead of terminating her, they sat her down with a senior VP who said, 'We know you're a strong marketer. This was a process failure, not a competence failure. But you're going to have a hard time on this team for a while. Would you consider moving to the insights group where you can help with consumer research?' Luna: That's a remarkable response. Not every company would do that. But it's smart — they kept her skills and removed her from the daily reminder of the mistake. Lucas: Right. And Sarah took the transfer. It was a lateral move — same title, same pay band — but a completely different function. She went from managing product launches to managing consumer panels and survey data. And within eighteen months, she was leading a cross-functional team and had essentially reset her reputation. Luna: So what's the playbook here? Someone listening might be in a similar spot — or they might be a manager thinking about how to handle this with a direct report. Lucas: There are three parts. First, you have to own the mistake publicly and specifically within the company — not just to your boss, but to anyone affected. Sarah sent a brief, factual email to the product and PR teams apologizing and outlining the process change she was implementing. She didn't hide. That transparency made her a candidate for redemption. Luna: That's counterintuitive. A lot of people would try to go quiet and hope it blows over. Lucas: And that almost never works, because the story fills the vacuum. But if you're the one telling the story and explaining what you learned, you control the narrative. Second — and this is the part directly tied to the transfer — you need to find a sponsor in another part of the business who is willing to give you a fresh start. Luna: Not just a mentor. A sponsor. Someone who will vouch for you with their own credibility on the line. Lucas: Exactly. In Sarah's case, the senior VP from insights had previously worked with her on a research project and knew her work ethic. That pre-existing relationship was essential. You can't cold-request a trust-reset transfer from someone who doesn't know you. So the lesson is: build cross-functional relationships before you need them. Luna: And the third part? Lucas: The transfer has to be structured so that your old team can genuinely move on. That means a clean handoff — no lingering projects, no shared Slack channels where your name keeps coming up. Some companies even have a policy of not discussing past mistakes after a transfer, as part of the fresh-start agreement. Harvard Business Review published a study a couple of years ago showing that internal mobility reduces the stigma of failure by about forty percent compared to external hiring, precisely because the context shift is understood. Luna: Forty percent is significant. That suggests that staying inside the company, when you can, is actually better for your long-term trajectory than jumping ship after a screw-up. Lucas: It is — provided the company culture supports it. Not every organization has that maturity. But if you're in one that does, a lateral transfer can be a genuine second act. The key is to frame the move not as an escape from failure, but as a strategic redeployment of your skills where they're most needed. Luna: That's a subtle reframe, but it matters. If you go into the conversation saying 'I need to get away from my team,' it sounds like avoidance. If you say 'I think my strengths would be more valuable in X group,' it sounds like strategic self-awareness. Lucas: Exactly. And if you've already done the first step — owning the mistake publicly — then you have the credibility to make that argument. One more thing: timing. Don't request the transfer immediately after the mistake. Let a few weeks pass. Let the immediate emotion settle. Use that time to do the owning and repair work. Then start the conversation about a lateral move. Luna: Let me ask something. What if the mistake is so big that even a sponsor can't sell the transfer? You know, like a compliance violation or a financial error that cost the company real money. Lucas: That's a fair boundary. If the mistake involves ethical or legal breaches — fraud, harassment, deliberate policy violation — then a transfer isn't appropriate, and frankly, you probably shouldn't stay at the company. But the vast majority of career mistakes are errors of execution, not character. A missed deadline, a botched launch, a miscommunication that went public. Those are human. And companies that can't accommodate human error usually have deeper cultural problems. Luna: Yeah, I think that's a really important distinction. It's not about excusing carelessness — it's about recognizing that talent is scarce and that a single mistake doesn't erase someone's entire track record. Lucas: And that's exactly the mentality a good internal transfer program should support. By the way, if we've helped you think through a career move or a decision like this — whether it's a trust-reset transfer or something else — I want to mention something briefly. This podcast is deliberately ad-free. No sponsors, no commercials, no mid-roll interruptions. That's a choice we've made from day one. Luna: Yeah, and it's something listeners tell us they really appreciate. You can just focus on the conversation without being sold something every ten minutes. Lucas: So if you want to support that approach, the simplest way is through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small gesture that helps us keep the episodes free for everyone. No pressure at all — just putting it out there. Luna: And we mean that. Now back to the trust-reset playbook — what about the manager's perspective? If you're a leader and you have a high performer who made a mistake, how do you decide whether to facilitate a transfer versus letting them go? Lucas: That's a great question. I'd say the first filter is: is the mistake a one-off or part of a pattern? If it's a pattern, a transfer just moves the problem. But if it's a one-off — and the employee shows genuine accountability and learning — then keeping them in the company is almost always the better financial decision. Replacement costs for a mid-level professional can be six to nine months of salary. A transfer costs almost nothing. Luna: Plus you retain institutional knowledge. That's huge. Lucas: Huge. So from the manager's side, you want to be honest with the employee about the reputational damage and give them a real choice: stay and rebuild here, or move to a different team where the slate is cleaner. Some people will choose to stay and fight. Others will prefer the fresh start. Both are valid. Luna: And if they choose the transfer, do you recommend any specific handoff rituals? Like a formal farewell meeting where the manager publicly acknowledges the employee's contributions? Lucas: Absolutely. The departing manager should explicitly say something like, 'Sarah made a mistake, she owned it, we've fixed the process, and she's going to bring her strengths to the insights team.' That public reset is gold. It signals to the rest of the organization that mistakes are survivable and that redemption is possible. That's a cultural win for everyone. Luna: So the transfer doesn't just help the individual — it actually strengthens the company's culture of growth and forgiveness. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the deeper point. A company that can absorb failure and redeploy talent is more resilient. It's also more attractive to top performers who know they won't be discarded for one bad day. Luna: Alright, so let's say someone is listening and they're in that position. They made a mistake, they've done the owning, and they want to explore a transfer. What's the first concrete step? Lucas: Step one: identify three people in other departments whose opinion you trust and who have seen you do good work. Reach out for a confidential conversation. Say, 'I'm thinking about a lateral move and I'd value your perspective on where my skills might fit best.' Don't mention the mistake unless they bring it up. Let them see you as a capable person exploring options. If they bring up the error, you acknowledge it briefly and reiterate what you learned. Then pivot to the future. Luna: That's smart. It's essentially building your internal network for the transfer before you formally apply. Lucas: Yes. And be ready for the possibility that some of those conversations will lead nowhere. That's fine. You only need one sponsor who believes in you. In Sarah's case, it was that senior VP who had a direct line to the insights group. One person can open the door. Luna: And one more thing — if you're the one who made the mistake, don't beat yourself up forever. The fact that you're still employed and thinking strategically already says a lot about your value. Lucas: That's the final note I'd leave. Careers are long. One mistake is a paragraph, not the whole chapter. An internal transfer can help you turn the page. Luna: Well said. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. See you next time.