I admit it: I hit a car today. The worst part? It was parked.
My first instinct is to defend myself:
- It was parked at the end of my driveway
- The car was halfway on the sidewalk and halfway on the road
- It was never there before
- The car should never have been parked at the end of my driveway!
Reality:
- Life doesn’t end; I made a mistake
- Blame won’t make the dent go away
- I can point fingers or I can move on with my day
I’m not the first person to hit a car and I won’t be the last. Leaders have their own version of car accidents all the time. Leadership isn’t about what happens when you hit the car, it’s about what you do afterwards to keep moving forward.
Admitting a mistake is powerful. Today I left a note on the car I smashed. Personal leadership means doing what’s right even when what I did was wrong. Made a bad decision? Give bad information to someone? Accidently invoiced a customer for the wrong amount? So what! You made a mistake, it’s not who you are. Show people who you are as a leader through how you deal head on with the crisis at hand.
Your leadership choice: Create a large-scale cover-up so you look justified OR give an honest apology and offer to make it right.
Dents can be popped out – not every mistake requires major work. Leadership focuses on solutions, not problems. Going to the worst-case scenario of what could happen based on your error doesn’t serve anyone.
Your leadership choice: Walk around from desk to desk and office-to-office telling everyone your problem OR undo the dent through words and actions.
Feel the need to point a finger? Try pointing at yourself. Leadership qualities I admire include integrity, taking responsibility, honesty. Leaders that are busy pointing fingers forget that nobody’s perfect. People are human regardless of title (or the kinds of cars they drive). I hit the car! I had a big part in the accident even it wasn’t the only part. Finger pointing is not a skill that will lead to promotion or respect. Leadership lives in the ability to see the situation for what it is and find the way to continue move forward with clarity, energy and focus.
Your leadership choice: Ask everyone you run into “why does this always happen to me” OR Move on – it’s that simple.
I made a choice today the moment I left the note on the car. I also made another choice: I decided that today was not going to be “one of those days” but instead be a good day. You know what? Turns out I was right this time.
Made a mistake? Hit a car? How did you make it right and move on? Would love to hear from you.
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