How leaders can learn from their mistakes

Leaders are not perfect

Through the ages, there have been quite a few gifted leaders who benefited both themselves, their followers, and society overall.

No matter how gifted these leaders were, however, they were not perfect.

Their most ardent followers would agree on the fact that even the most venerated leaders made a few (or more) mistakes over the duration of their tenure in power.

Leaders are humans just like everybody else, and their rise to a leadership role does not imply that, all of a sudden, they can get rid of all of their human weaknesses, biases, inclinations, and fallacies.

Once leaders accept this situation, they will be able to learn from their mistakes.

Leaders can learn from their mistakes by first accepting failure

People find it hard to come to terms with failure; more so leaders.

Leaders, in specific, may struggle to accept failure for various reasons.

First of all, they may believe that accepting that they have made a mistake may harm their status, reputation, recognition, and influence as leaders.

This can be far from the truth.

Instead of refusing to accept failure, they would better take responsibility of their own actions, and the actions of people under them, and hold themselves accountable.

As a result, by holding themselves accountable, rather than hiding their head in the sand and blaming others, leaders can actually boost their image, influence, and power in the long run, rather than damaging them.

Learning from mistakes rather than just resigning

Resigning is an easy thing to do.

However, when a leader resigns, and acknowledges his or her defeat in this way, there is more to that than just handing in a resignation letter.

How can a leader be sure that he or she won’t resign from his or her next job, too, and that he or she won’t keep resigning time and again?

Learning from mistakes: The turning point

Making the decision to perform an in-depth analysis of the reasons that may have led to a leader’s resignation is the critical moment that determines whether a leader can learn from mistakes, or not.

Although there is no point crying over spoilt milk, it definitely makes sense for a leader to attempt to analyze the past, and try to identify any areas where he or she may have acted incorrectly or inappropriately.

This is important, because, first of all, it can help a leader discover the root cause of failure.

As a result, he or she can minimize the possibility of failure occurring again, in another business setting, where he or she may have been selected to lead.

How a leader can improve rather than remain stagnant

Performing a root cause failure analysis in itself is not enough.

Although a root cause analysis is essential, in order to diagnose any problematic areas and mistakes, unless a leader takes action to improve in those areas and correct any mistakes, he or she won’t learn, improve, or progress, but he or she would rather remain stagnant, and let competitors get the better of him or her.

So, what can a leader do to correct and overcome mistakes, and improve?

-Use a business/life coach or become one

Even a leader needs a mentor.

A business/life coach can help a leader identify and fill up any gaps that may exist in his or her leadership skills and training.

It’s not unusual for a leader to become myopic, adopt a know-all attitude, and become blind to his or her own incompetencies, inadequacies, and mistakes.

Working with a business/life coach can be a truly eye-opening experience for a leader for various reasons.

By just having a discussion with an experienced business/life coach, a leader can find a person with the same wavelength who really understands him or her, and help him or her unearth the hidden reasons behind any mistakes that he or she may have made.

Following that, a business/life coach can assist a leader in establishing courses of action and routes towards learning from mistakes and becoming a better leader.

Besides, a leader can become his or her own mentor by taking the time to check and analyze past mistakes, and seek optimum ways and methods of improvement.

-Listen to others

One of the worst mistakes that a leader can make is ignore and not listen to other people.

By addressing this situation and becoming a better listener, a leader can successfully deal with other mistakes, as well.

There are leaders who have trouble accepting that listening to other people can make them better leaders.

In fact, when other people show a leader his or her mistakes, they actually help him or her learn from those mistakes.

Therefore, listening to others, is an easy, straightforward, and cost effective way for a leader to learn from his or her mistakes.

-Correct one mistake by doing two things right

A leader should not let mistakes discourage or hold him or her back.

Adopting a proactive approach is one of the best ways to deal with past sins.

Throughout history, the best leaders weren’t those who were devastated and literally destroyed by their own mistakes, but those who managed to overcome those mistakes and get back on their feet.

The world will definitely remember a leader for one minor mistake that he or she made.

However, chances are for the same leader to be better remembered for one or two great things that he also did.

In this way, not only can a leader learn from his or her mistakes and excel himself or herself, but society can prosper, as well.

Sources and further reading:

4 reasons great leaders admit their mistakes

Good leaders admit and learn from their mistakes

The beauty of failure: How the best leaders learn from their mistakes

Do leaders make mistakes? Leaders are smart. What do they make mistakes?

Strategies for Learning from Failure