Are You Calling It Out, or Showing Off?

Have you ever been in a room where someone made a mistake, and another person immediately pointed it out?

Not quietly. Not in a private conversation. But right there, in front of everyone.

Maybe the mistake genuinely needed to be addressed. Maybe the person had overlooked something important, and someone else happened to notice it first. On the surface, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. We all make mistakes, and workplaces need accountability.

But sometimes watching these moments happen makes me wonder: are we actually trying to solve the problem, or are we trying to be seen as the person who spotted it?

Office dynamics can be funny that way, especially when the people involved are colleagues at the same level or below you who are politically 'convenient'. There is no formal authority between you, but there is still a hierarchy that everyone is quietly trying to navigate. Everyone wants to be seen as capable. Reliable. Sharp. Someone worth noticing.

And pointing out someone else’s mistake can become a very convenient way to demonstrate your own competence.

You noticed it first. You knew better. You caught the problem before anyone else did.

Look at me. I’m paying attention.

I don't think this means the mistake should be ignored. Quite the opposite, if someone did something wrong, they should know. But how we choose to address that mistake says something about us, too.

One important takeaway that I've learned from my wisest colleagues at my previous workplaces is that you can correct someone without turning their mistake into your moment of exposure.

You can say, “Hey, I think there’s something we need to fix here,” without making sure everyone knows who was wrong and who was right.

And perhaps this is where I’ve become increasingly uncomfortable with certain workplace dynamics, because there’s a subtle difference between using your competence to contribute and using someone else’s mistake to demonstrate your competence.

The first one builds something. The second, builds a position.

And maybe the more interesting question isn't whether the person being called out actually did something wrong. Maybe they did, but the question remains: what are you doing with the fact that you noticed?

Are you using it to make the work better?

Are you using it to help your colleague get better?

Or are you using it to make yourself look better?

Because power doesn't always look like a manager giving orders. At some places it looks like being the person who gets to point out who messed up.

And I think there's something to be said for knowing that you can make someone look bad, but choosing instead to help make the situation better.

So the next time you catch someone else's mistake, maybe pause for a second. Are you calling it out, or showing off?