Ownership should include mistakes

I have a super smart, cheeky, willing to challenge everything I say and do 8-year-old. As a result, she is indirectly challenging and putting to test all of my leadership beliefs. Unbeknownst to her, she is making me better at my job developing and enhancing leadership skills in the workplace.

One of our latest conversations is about ownership. Like most kids her age, she is quick to deflect and/or make excuses when she does something wrong. This is obviously normal for a kid and part of the learning process. What shouldn’t be the norm is when leaders in workplaces, governments etc. use similar approaches when something goes wrong.

NOBODY gets every decision 100% correct. What I see, hear, and read today when some leaders get it wrong is generally for them to double down. Leaders will sometimes make a bad decision, its human. They will sometimes make a good sound decision that turns bad with poor execution, communication, or planning. Regardless the situation, a good leader owns their mistakes. As a fellow human being, I can relate to and respect that. If nothing else, owning it at the very least diminishes the “power” of your distractors. Next time you make a mistake try phrases like “my bad” “In hindsight, we could have done a better job” “Idea was great, our execution was poor” etc. As long as it’s not a recurring theme, most people will understand.