Most leaders try to re-posture themselves when they make a mistake. The problem is that when you try to save face you lose your team’s respect. Being real with our team means admitting our mistakes and taking full ownership of the consequences, even if it means we’ll be mocked for it. Here are some ways to admit your mistakes with honesty and integrity and move forward with your team.
Here are 9 of the most common leadership mistakes from RamseySolutions
When you make a mistake, there’s no sense in trying to save face. Even if no one witnessed it, being honest about what happened shows your team that you’re willing to take full ownership of your actions—and are fully accountable for any mistakes you made. It also sends a message that you trust your team to help you recognize and learn from mistakes when they happen. Ultimately, showing humility allows everyone to move forward together with new knowledge and greater confidence.
Leading a team is hard. Leading your team through failure, however, can be even harder. Asking for forgiveness and admitting your mistakes are some of the hardest things to do as a leader—but they’re also some of the most critical.
When you make a mistake, acknowledge it. Then take full responsibility for it. It can be difficult to own up to our mistakes, especially if we’re not used to doing so. But leaders who can take ownership when things go wrong are those who build trust with their teams and develop high-performing cultures of accountability.
No matter how hard we try, mistakes will happen. The most important thing is to take responsibility for your actions and be realistic about what you need to do differently next time. Be sure to acknowledge that there is no next time if you don’t learn from your past failures.
It’s okay to make mistakes—in fact, it’s inevitable. The key is recognizing your error, fixing it and moving on with confidence. Here are a few strategies to help you get back in your team’s good graces quickly 1) Acknowledge your mistake and apologize for any damage or disruption caused by it; 2) Explain what you will do differently in future; 3) Get support from colleagues who can vouch for your character. By doing so, you will keep everyone focused on your role as a leader who cares about people first, while also building trust that they can rely on when they need support of their own.
Check out this article on Progress Leadership