As leaders,
we all know the importance of setting a good example.
It’s one of the five fundamental practices of
exemplary leadership. It obviously makes sense to set a good example. Why,
then, is it hard to admit a mistake?
After all, we want those we work with to be accountable and accept responsibility for their actions.
The 3
Hardest Words to Say
I think the three hardest words for a leader
to say are, ‘I was wrong.’ I
would like to be able to say that I have never made a mistake… that I was never
wrong, but you all know I would be lying. The fact is, I have made a number of
mistakes as a leader… and I hated when it happened!
Even worse,
though, was having to admit ‘I was wrong’… sometimes in front of a group of
people with whom I worked.
And yet, I can honestly say that I never
walked away with a sense that I lost “market share” as a leader. If anything, I
felt the opposite occurred. People seemed to respect the fact that I would
admit that I made a mistake. Of course, the admission was usually accompanied
by an apology or sharing steps I would take to fix my blunder. But, depending
on the mistake, this may not be enough.
Difficult
Getting Real
We have all heard comments like; ‘to err is human.’ If
we as leaders believe this, then why is it so difficult for us to be real… to
admit we made a mistake? Too often, leaders try to ignore a mistake… pretending
it didn’t occur, cover it up, or blame someone else. And yes, if I am honest
with myself, I am sure that somewhere along the way I have done these too.
What’s one of the most damaging outcomes of
not admitting mistakes or that we were wrong? Loss of trust! Stephen Covey in
his book, The Speed of Trust,
quotes a variety of statistics that show the lack of trust. Among them are the
following:
- 51% of employees have trust and confidence in
senior management.
- 36% of employees believe their leaders act
with honesty and integrity.
Covey goes
on to say that trust is the ‘key leadership competency of the new global
economy.’
According to Leigh Branham in The 7 Hidden
Reasons People Leave, one of the top seven reasons voluntarily
separate from an organization is loss of trust and confidence in senior
leaders. So, not only may we lose the trust of others, but we may lose good
employees.
Moving On
What do we do when we make a mistake? Dennis
and Michelle Reina in their book Trust and
Betrayal in the Workplace, suggest
there are a number of actions we can take and among them are ‘admit mistakes.’
When we
admit mistakes, we and others can learn from those mistakes, as well as open
the door to restore trust.
How about you? How do you handle mistakes? Do you
tend to admit them or take some other option? What suggestions can you offer to
help other leaders to be honest enough to admit their mistakes? What are
other impacts for failing to say, ‘I was wrong?’ What do you think are the
three hardest words for Leaders to say?
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