How Excellent Leaders Handle Making Mistakes

Let's face it, everyone makes mistakes whether we want to admit it or not. making mistakes is a part of life and it's a part of learning, growing, and striving to become a better version of yourself. It's been said that if you're not making mistakes, then you aren't trying hard enough and you aren't taking efficient desks. While many mistakes can be avoided, you and your team should not fear making mistakes. As a leader, you have the responsibility to foster an environment in which mistakes can be made without fear of repercussions. When a leader makes a mistake, how they handle it can make or break a team’s performance and impact the team’s relationship.  Here are several tips for how excellent leaders handle making mistakes.

"Mistakes are painful learning experiences."

- Brain Tracy

Admit Your Mistakes

The first thing that anyone should do when they make a mistake if to own up to it. Taking ownership of a mistake means that you are taking responsibility for your actions. It also shows that you have integrity and that you are ready to do all of the things necessary to correct the mistake. Moreover, admitting your mistakes also sets an example for others. It is here in this moment that a leader can shine and that his or her followers can see what it really means to do the right thing and to be able to lead by example. If you are willing to admit your mistakes, then your team members or subordinates will significantly more likely to admit to their mistakes as well.

Apologize If Necessary

If the mistake that you made as a leader negatively impacts other people then it's important to take the time to apologize. Don't just send a short apology through email,  as this can be seen as being insincere. for an apology to have the effect that is desired, it needs to be sincere and it needs to come from your heart. It's important to be specific with your apology, this goes hand-in-hand with admitting your mistake. By being specific and by stating how he will rectify the situation, you are showing the other person that you care and that you understand the impact that you had on them and the organization. In addition to this, an apology should almost always be given in person. If a personal meeting is not possible, then a phone call that surprises them is a good idea. This is very important because having a face-to-face discussion or even in conversation over the phone shows that you are willing to have a  confrontation that could be especially stressful and uncomfortable.  Once you've made your apology, it's important to move on and rectify the situation as soon as possible.

Learn From Your Mistakes

Every mistake that is made is also a learning opportunity. A mistake can be viewed as a situation where you learn what not to do or what doesn't work or how not to deal with a specific issue. We can often discover profound facts and wisdom in mistakes that we would have not otherwise discovered had we not made the mistake in the first place. Even some of the technology and inventions that we use today were created by mistake. If you made a mistake, it's very important to take the time to think about what happened and how it happened. You can use this time to develop a new procedure or a new guideline so that the mistake does not happen again.  In some cases, a small mistake that is rectified can help prevent a much larger and more costly mistake.

Use Your Mistakes to Teach Others

In addition to being a personal learning opportunity, your mistakes as a leader can be used to teach others as well. whether your team members or subordinates witness your mistake or if they hear about it and the story, it gives them an opportunity to learn what not to do or how to do things better. this is very similar to fathers who use stories from their childhood to teach their children how to survive in society today.  Mistakes are one of the greatest teachers in the world

Don’t Let Mistakes Hold You Back

Finally, it's imperative that you don't let Mistakes hold you back and prevent you from achieving your goals and your mission. Once you admitted your mistake, apologized for it, rectified it, and learned from it, then it's time to move on and move forward. don't dwell on the past or on the sinking feeling of failure in your gut that often comes with making mistakes.  For entrepreneurs, making mistakes is essentially the name of the game.  Anyone building a new business is going to make many mistakes.  It's important to learn from them and then move on.