Admitting our mistakes

One of the most difficult things a leader does is admit when he/she has made a mistake. It shouldn't be difficult, but it is.

Interestingly, we often tell our followers that we learn more from our failures than our successes. I'm not sure who ever said that, but we perpetuate that idea consistently. I think it's ridiculous. Most of us are smart enough to learn from our successes more than our mistakes, but that's another lesson. For now, I want to focus on admitting that we make mistakes. And helping our followers learn from theirs, too.

 

One of the virtues we seldom talk about in leadership seminars, at least those I've attended, is humility. In order to grow from our mistakes, we have to be humble. The problem with humility is, how do you know? How do we measure it? Who measures it? Am I so powerful that I know whether or not you're being humble? I don't think so. As Pope Francis says, "Who am I to judge?" The only person who knows how humble, if at all, we are, is us. And that measure really is the only valid measure.

 

Admitting our mistakes takes humility. Humility, really, is based on the realization that we don't know as much as we sometimes, maybe often, want others to think we know. It's okay not to know. As my friend, Simon Sinek says, "The great leaders are not the smartest; they are the ones who admit how much they don't know.”

 

As our followers see that we're willing to admit that we don't know, that we, too, make mistakes, they, at least sense that we're being humble. And they appreciate it.

 

A few years ago, during a State of the Union Address, the Joint Chiefs of Staff were seated together. Almost no one noticed that the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Joseph Lengyel's, ribbons on his service dress were upside down. Now, if you've ever worn a uniform, you've probably put your ribbons on your uniform upside down. It happens. Later that evening, the General posted an apology on social media, making a public commitment that it would never happen again. WOW! A four-star general, a Chief of Staff, admitting that he made a mistake and apologizing for it, AND promising it won't happen again! That's leading! I've met General Lengel, and in my humble opinion, he exudes humility.

 

It's okay.... We all make mistakes. Our followers make mistakes. We're human. The key, though, is to learn from them and not make them again. We can each choose to be humble and admit that we're not perfect, none of us is. And if you choose to be a great leader, accept that your followers, too, make mistakes. Make the time to help them learn from their mistakes as well as their successes. 

 

Until next time, Be GREAT! You ARE!

 

¡HEIRPOWER!

bob vásquez