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#Leadership : The Best Thing To Do When You Mess Up. A Two(2) Min #MustRead !

As leaders, we’ve all been there: that awful moment of clarity when we realize we’ve screwed up. Our hearts and minds race, our palms sweat and our mouths dry up. We consider our options and what to do next: Hope no one notices the flub? Hide out until it blows over? Pretend it never happened?

But hope is not a strategy and taking timely action trumps passivity or avoidance.

The best thing you can do when you make a mistake is to be accountable and own it immediately. Here’s why:

You’ll avoid misunderstandings.

The benefit of immediate accountability is that you can have clear and open communication about what went wrong and why. And hearing directly from a leader about his or her mishap helps diffuse any possible rumors or miscommunication that could arise if the leader had waited.

It demonstrates your vulnerability—and strength.

Vulnerable leaders are strong leaders. It takes courage to admit when you’ve screwed up and face possible judgment and ridicule. Dr. Brené Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston who has spent two decades studying courage and vulnerability, advocates that leaders “embrace the suck” that is vulnerability and admit when they’ve made a mistake. Insecure leaders try to minimize their exposure by covering up their mistakes; confident leaders aren’t afraid to own them.

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By acknowledging your mistakes, you’ll learn from them instead of repeating them.

Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, famously grew up with a father who asked her and her brother at dinner, “How did you fail today?” The finest leaders understand how to shift their perspective to view a “failure” as an opportunity to learn something new. Because of this, they no longer worry about being wrong and instead, delight in being mistaken. Remember, you’re doomed to repeat a mistake and can’t learn from it unless you first acknowledge it.

It showcases your true leadership colors.

When you take responsibility for your mistakes, you send a clear message to others about your character, integrity and authenticity. You demonstrate what’s called intellectual humility, or the willingness to recognize that what you think and believe might be wrong. Research shows that leaders with intellectual humility have an advantage over those who rely upon ego and power, gaining influence and earning others’ respect and loyalty.

It signals to others that you’re human—and they can be, too.

News flash: all leaders make mistakes because all leaders are human. But not all leaders are willing to admit to it for fear of looking incompetent. Leaders who own up to their shortcomings signal that theirs is a culture in which it’s okay to be imperfectly human. And when leaders model this behavior, they create a more open and collaborative culture where others are encouraged to share their ideas.

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Forbes.com | August 26, 2019

#Leadership : How To Handle Good And Bad Mistakes…Mistakes Happen. Every Day, they Do. It is What Happens Next That Is the Critical & a Too Often Missed Leadership Piece of the Puzzle.

Yes Virginia, there are good mistakes. They need to be handled differently than do bad mistakes. In general, encourage intentional mistakes with minor impact and consider, excuse or prevent the rest.

Free- Boat going Nowhere

Mistakes happen. Every day, they do. It is what happens next that is the critical and a too often missed leadership piece of the puzzle. Do we overlook them, acknowledge them, take action to reset the course, and/or learn from them for maximum impact with clear accountability? Therein is the opportunity for the mistake to set the exceptional BRAVE leaders apart.

Intention and impact

While most mistakes are unintentional, evolution and survival depend on continual learning and adaptation – often from intentional mistakes. At the same time there’s a material difference between the impact different mistakes make. One of the Gore Company’s guiding principles is that everyone should consult with other associates “before taking actions that might be “below the waterline”–causing serious damage to the company.” Hence our general guidance above.

 

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Encourage intentional mistakes with minor impact

Even if you are sure plan A is right, push your team to test plans bracketing plan A. These might include things like increased and decreased investment plans at the same time as your “right” approach. Two of the three approaches will be mistakes. That’s how you get cheap learning and growth out of intentional mistakes.

Handle intentional mistakes with minor impact by encouraging others to make them.

Consider intentional mistakes with major impact

There are going to be times when you must bet the ranch. There are going to be times when that bet goes wrong. One of the hallmarks of BRAVE leadership is an ability to take and manage those risks.

Handle intentional mistakes with major impact by understanding the risks below the waterline, gathering objective data, consulting with others with diverse perspectives and considering your options carefully. Tapping into diverse perspectives is one of the best ways to get around groupthink. If all you’re going to do is talk to people that agree with you, don’t waste everyone’s time. Instead, listen carefully to those with different points of view.

 

Excuse or apologize for unintentional mistakes with minor impact

In a recap I circulated about my earlier article on Why You Should Eliminate Your Chief Innovation Officer, I mistakenly referred to eliminating ChiefInformation Officers. Several people pointed out the misplaced word. Many even defended Information Officers. While the mistake was completely unintentional and all my fault, it had the benefit of allowing me to reconnect with all sorts of people. I thanked them, apologized, and moved on.

You can get away with unintentional mistakes with minor impact – once. Own up to the mistake, fix the issue and make sure it never happens again. In these cases it’s never the mistake that gets you. It’s the cover up.

Prevent unintentional mistakes with major impact by deploying redundant systems

These are the mistakes that sink ships or companies or reputations. You read about these every day: the trading company that suffers a computer glitch; the otherwise well-run company that misunderstands the true financials of a big acquisition; VolksWagen completely failing to live up to its own values. These can be what Warren Bennis and Steven Sample refer to as “final failures”.

Handle unintentional mistakes with major impact by mitigating risk. Knowing there are going to be some unintentional mistakes, build in redundant systems to check or protect things. The builders of the Panama Canal had redundant systems all over the place so no ship could unintentionally knock open the door to a lock and wipe out everything down hill. Learn from them.

Here’s the advice:

  • Encourage intentional mistakes with minor impact.
  • Consider intentional mistakes with major impact.
  • Excuse or apologize for unintentional mistakes with minor impact.
  • Prevent unintentional mistakes with major impact by deploying redundant systems.
Minor Impact                 Once      Cheap Learning
Major Impact   Redundant Systems   Considered Choice 
          Unintentional            Intentional

East Tenth Group’s Michelle Tenzyk sums it up well:

Mistakes happen. Every day, they do. It is what happens next that is the critical and a too often missed leadership piece of the puzzle. Do we overlook them, acknowledge them, take action to reset the course, and/or learn from them for maximum impact with clear accountability? Therein is the opportunity for the mistake to set the exceptional BRAVE leaders apart.

 

Forbes.com | March 30, 2016 | George Bradt