Clarksville, TN – Whenever I have an opportunity to discuss leadership with young or emerging leaders, I encourage them to lead boldly, to lead compassionately, and to lead by example. At its most basic level, leading compassionately is remembering at all times that every decision we make affects people and, in many cases, their families. It is also ensuring that we’re doing our very best to take good care of our people while they’re taking care of our organization’s mission.
Leading by example is pretty self-explanatory and relates to modeling the attitudes, behavior, and dedication to excellence that we expect of the people we lead. It means stepping in from time to time and doing the most demanding things we ask of them, doing those things by their sides, and thereby reassuring them that we would never ask them to do anything that we’re not willing to do ourselves.
When I share my thoughts on leading boldly, I tend to throw the audience a bit of a curve ball. Some, especially among military audiences, assume that I’m referring to physical courage when I advocate bold leadership. That’s not at all what I mean by leading boldly.
The bold leadership I highlight is not at all about physical courage. Rather, it’s all about courageous decision making, or leading free of the fear of making mistakes. ALL leaders make mistakes. The sooner a leader accepts that reality, the sooner they’ll empower themselves to lead with decisiveness and initiative.
In the wake of nearly every mistake, we’re judged not for the mistake itself, but for how we react to it. When good leaders make mistakes, they own those mistakes. They admit their mistakes. They don’t deny them, try to cover them up, or blame someone else for them. They don’t drop their mistakes at their bosses’ feet without recommending solutions, hoping that their bosses will fix their mistakes for them. They certainly don’t throw the people they lead under the bus and attribute their own mistakes to their teammates.
When you make a mistake as a leader, own it! Admit it. Inform your boss promptly. Tell them what happened and how it happened. Show them that you’re capable of learning from your mistake by explaining what you could have done to prevent it. Tell them what YOU are doing to correct it and that you’ll come back and let them know if you need their help.
Shield your teammates, even those who might have contributed to your mistake, from any consequences that your mistake – or your team’s mistake – might have produced. Most importantly, learn from your mistakes and do your very best not to repeat them.
Good leaders learn from their mistakes. Truly exceptional and conscientious leaders help others to learn from them. They put their egos aside during mentoring and leadership development sessions and walk their teammates, fellow leaders, and emerging leaders through their decision processes, the factors that contributed to their mistakes, and, more importantly, the actions they took to fix their mistakes. These leaders place leader development and the best interests of their organizations over their own interests and egos.
This kind of bold leadership only works in organizations in which senior leaders cultivate it by urging junior leaders to use their initiative and make decisions in the absence of detailed guidance. They refrain from punishing leaders for minor mistakes. They conduct leadership development and mentoring sessions that encourage junior leaders to share their mistakes openly and help their peer leaders learn from them.
Some of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned as a leader have been the products of my mistakes. I would bet that nearly every honest and humble leader could make the same admission. Leaders, be bold, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes!
Sincerely,
Walt Lord,
Major General, U.S. Army (Retired)
Vice President for Military and Veterans Affairs Austin Peay State University
