Face it. Leadership mistakes are inevitable. As a leader, you are going to make mistakes. That’s just reality. Every leader makes mistakes.
What matters, then, and what helps separate great leaders from poor leaders, is what you do when they happen.
- When you make a mistake, what will you do?
- What steps will you take when you make a mistake that costs money, or time or causes disgruntlement with the team?
- What will you do when you don’t reach financial or other goals?
- If you treated someone poorly, how would you respond?
- Will you admit to that mistake and fix it?
- Or will you cast blame or pretend it didn’t happen?
Your actions will determine the type of leader you are as well as your effectiveness as a leader.
What leaders often do when they make leadership mistakes:
- Pretend it didn’t happen.
- Blame someone or something else for why it happened.
- Make excuses and justify their mistakes.
- Lie about it.
- Pretend it was a success.
- Get angry, miserable, yell, etc.
- Or do a mixture of the above.
As a leader yourself, you can do better than this. Here’s how to overcome leadership mistakes in 3 steps:
1. Take Ownership of Your Mistake
One of the most critical and biggest mistakes leaders make is not taking ownership of their mistakes. This comes about for a variety of reasons.
First, some leaders feel they have to act “invincible and strong” in front of their employees.
They believe that showing weakness or vulnerability will make them look weak and that they will not be respected as a leader.
- Have you ever seen that before?
- Do you see it in yourself?
The truth is, it’s the exact opposite.
As John Maxwell said in his book,