Great leaders are never afraid to admit their mistakes, because they realize that mistakes are inevitable. Mistakes are only a problem when we refuse to admit them because we then cannot learn from them and will probably repeat them.
Stephen R. Covey, famed management consultant says "Don't argue for other people's weaknesses. Don't argue for your own. When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it, and learn from it -- immediately."
This blogger has it right. The strongest motivation for refusing to admit mistakes is fear. We fear that admitting we made a mistake or we're wrong somehow means we're not smart, or competent. The true leader understands what the great poet Alexander Pope said: "A man should never be ashamed to own that he is wrong, which is but saying in other words that he is wiser today than he was yesterday."
Author Elliot Aronson in his book Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me), discusses how "cognitive dissonance" can work to convince us we're right even when we know we're wrong! Especially our own self-image. "If I think I'm smart and I do something stupid, I think it really wasn't that bad, or everyone does it, and I can sleep better at night without the cognitive dissonance," he says. But, he says, if you make a serious blunder, and convince yourself otherwise, you lose the opportunity to learn. Worse, he gives the example of going into war by mistake, but continuing to justify it anyway. Listen to his NPR interview about cognitive dissonance and how it drives us to refuse to admit mistakes, and how to overcome it. Read more of his writings here. For a leader, admitting mistakes can actually pay off. "The risk of looking foolish is miniscule compared to the goodwill earned from standing up and doing the right thing," says Inc. Magazine. More recently, “Wrongologist” Kathryn Schulz makes a compelling case for not just admitting but embracing our fallibility in her book Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error. Check out a video of her speaking on the topic.
Sarah Green in her Harvard Review article discusses how often we actually are wrong, and comes up with two resolutions I wholeheartedly support: (1) Actively look for anomalies, and (2) Be gentle to each other — and to yourself. And understand that, like the evolving beings we are, we learn most from our mistakes, but only when we recognize and admit them.
What do you think? Do you have trouble admitting when you're wrong? Or do you have a special strategy for checking yourself? Share your "adventures in the margin of error" with us.
