Instagram walked back its plan to go full-screen. The move shows that leaders aren't always right and that owning a mistake is vital.

The recent rollout of a full-screen Instagram feed didn't go as planned.

SOPA Images/Contributor

• After backlash from the Kardashians and Jenners, Instagram said it'd reverse a few planned updates.
• It said it would phase out a test version of a revamped app with a full-screen feed.
• CEO consultants and social-media engineers said the pivot is a lesson in leadership.

Instagram had planned big changes, including a full-screen version of the app — but the rollout didn't go as expected, and the company backtracked.

On Thursday, following backlash from celebrities, users, and influencers such as Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, told Casey Newton's Platformer newsletter that Instagram would phase out a test version of the revamped app within a week or two.

"I'm glad we took a risk — if we're not failing every once in a while, we're not thinking big enough or bold enough," Mosseri said. "But we definitely need to take a big step back and regroup."

CEO consultants and social-media engineers told Insider that Instagram's pivot is a lesson in effective leadership. They said that owning a mistake and incorporating feedback shows that a company's C-suite is responsive and in touch with its customers. Indeed, a well-executed U-turn can determine whether a company remains relevant or becomes stale.

"Mosseri's response was actually perfect," said Eric Yaverbaum, a veteran CEO communications and strategy consultant. "He acknowledged where the company went wrong, what it's doing to address it, and what is going to change moving forward."

Eric Yaverbaum, a CEO consultant, said great leaders know that mistakes are "opportunities to listen, to learn, to grow, and to reaffirm your commitment to your customers."

Eric Yaverbaum

Knowing when to pivot

Social-media engineers are constantly rolling out tools to keep up with users' digital appetites. Sometimes changes are met with valid pushback, and other times users just need time to adapt to something.

Zaven Nahapetyan, a former engineering manager and organizational lead for Facebook, said the key is knowing when to pivot and when to stand firm on a new feature.

"In my experience, every single large change is met with resistance, and then people get used to it," said Nahapetyan, now a cofounder of Niche.

Determining whether a pivot is fitting is a challenge, said Christopher Gulczynski, the mastermind behind Tinder's swiping feature.

Christopher Gulczynski, who worked on Tinder's swiping feature, said the takeaway from Instagram's situation "is to be more connected to the audience" and to think about questions like "How are our users using this, and how can we improve that experience for them?"

Christopher Gulczynski

"It's tricky — if you change a button color, there's going to be 30 million people that are mad at you, and sometimes there's no real reason," said Gulczynski, the CEO and another cofounder of Niche. "You have to ask yourself, 'Is this a net positive, or is it upsetting people for no good reason?'"

They said that for Instagram, quickly changing the test version was the right move. "When you have tastemakers like the Kardashians and Jenners commenting — their opinion matters a lot," Nahapetyan said. "If Instagram can get them to use the platform more and speak more highly of it, then it helps the reputation a lot."

The power of owning a mistake

CEO consultants said the swift and mounting criticism from key users showed that the product rollout was a mistake.

Yaverbaum said smart leaders own up to mistakes quickly and directly, showing transparency and a willingness to get better.

"Every company makes mistakes," he said. "Doubling down and refusing to admit wrongdoing is far more harmful than simply rolling back a feature. It's not worth driving away those who appreciate and support your product by refusing to acknowledge and validate their concerns."

Nahapetyan said that acknowledging when something went wrong shows that leadership is committed to making sure customers and employees feel like they have a say in the company's future.

"In my experience," said Zaven Nahapetyan, a former engineering manager and organizational lead for Facebook, "every single large change is met with resistance, and then people get used to it."

Zaven Nahapetyan

"It buys trust and it shows people that you care about them and their needs," he said.

It also gives CEOs the opportunity to improve operations.

"The insights that can be gained from user feedback in this moment are invaluable," Yaverbaum said. "In the right hands, this will be an excellent opportunity for Instagram to improve its user experience, create a more engaging platform, and reconfirm its commitment to its most fervent users."

Takeaways for all leaders

While not every CEO will face a situation where the Kardashians and Jenners are criticizing their new product, there are some universal takeaways from Instagram's case.

The first is to recognize when something's not right and address the mistake.

"Great leaders know that mistakes are opportunities — opportunities to listen, to learn, to grow, and to reaffirm your commitment to your customers," Yaverbaum said.

The second is to learn from the mistake or to get more in touch with your user base.

Gulczynski said Instagram's move suggested that its C-suite was disconnected from its core audience.

"They put this out there without being in lockstep with what the consumer wants," Gulczynski said. "The takeaway here is to be more connected to the audience, not to come at it from the angle of competing with TikTok but more, 'How are our users using this, and how can we improve that experience for them?'"

The third lesson involves incorporating feedback to make your product or company better.

"Always listen and respond appropriately to your team and those who use your products or services," Yaverbaum said. "Leadership is inevitably going to make mistakes — we're all human, after all — and immediately incorporating and addressing negative feedback can stop a problem before it becomes a crisis."

Read the original article on Business Insider

from Business Insider https://ift.tt/iCtcnWH
via IFTTT