Humble Leaders Admit Their Mistakes

As a leader, you will make mistakes; it’s inevitable. Don’t beat yourself up, don’t look down on yourself and don’t engage in negative self-talk. It’s all a natural part of the growth process.

According to Steve Adubato, Ph.D., one of the essential attributes of a leader is the ability to admit mistakes. Leaders are called upon to make countless decisions, and sometimes things inevitably go wrong. Many leaders may see admitting a mistake as a sign of weakness, but the opposite is true in many instances.

Admitting your errors has the potential to strengthen your relationships with your team. Admitting your mistakes communicates in a powerful way that you believe in the relationships you’ve developed. People around you need to know that you are human. They need to know you have the trust in them and in your own leadership to say, “I’m sorry. I didn’t handle XYZ well. I take full responsibility. Here’s what we need to do to get things right and back on track….”

The sign of a superior leader is not that they avoid making mistakes; it’s that when they do, they are humble enough to admit it and learn from them.