Dear leader, sometimes… you are wrong.
Now, if this is the first time you’ve heard this, feel free to process it. You can clutch your pearls, bang your fists on the desk, or, hey, you can even throw a stapler. Just make sure you don’t hit anyone.
Welcome back.
It’s nothing personal, but if you are human, you aren’t going to be perfect all the time. Unfortunately, many leaders buy into the myth of “arrivism.” They believe they are infallible, know it all, and their wisdom shouldn’t be questioned.
This can be cataclysmic for an organization.
The true test of a leader’s character is how they react when the team speaks up, points out a mistake, or questions the direction the leader chooses.
Whether you are new to your role or have been in it for eons, you get to choose what kind of leader you want to be.
Decision Making
“Surrounding yourself with people smarter than you” is often considered a key principle for effective decision-making as a leader. However, do you ask for input from your employees (especially when a decision directly impacts them), or do you make decisions in a vacuum?
“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” – Steve Jobs
Your team members may have a different perspective of the issue. They work the front lines every day, and their input will be invaluable.
However, it’s not enough to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. You must also find people who are comfortable speaking their minds and standing up to you. While you can screen for this in interviews, what you do when an employee comes to you for the first time will dictate whether or not they ever come to you again.
Creating a Culture of Psychological Safety
We teach people how to treat us and train them how to interact with us. Imagine this: If you went up to a dog to say hello and they bit you, would you go up to that dog again? Not if you don’t have to! That dog has let you know that they are not safe to approach and not interested in being friends.
Are you biting your employees? Okay, not actually biting them (seriously… don’t do that!). But think back to the last time an employee brought something to your attention. Maybe they were questioning a choice you made, pointing out a problem, or communicating that they were uncomfortable with how a situation was handled.
Did you:
- Get defensive, dismiss them, ignore their concerns, or even worse, punish them for speaking up?
- Actively listen to what they had to say and show curiosity, humility, and gratitude?
If you chose option A, my guess is that the employee never approached you again. They probably shut their mouth, put their head down, and have since shown up with a poor attitude and a decrease in productivity. They may have even left your department, if not your company entirely.
What happened? Well, your actions told them (in no uncertain terms) that their opinion was not welcomed, valued, or allowed. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. Would you stick around?
On the other hand, if you heard them, admitted your mistake (if you did indeed make one), and rewarded them for speaking up, you have created a healthy culture that will attract and retain the best talent.
Conclusion
Employees who speak up, question you, challenge you, and provide honest feedback are gifts to you and your organization. These behaviors indicate that they care about your organization’s success. You’ll want to surround yourself with these people at every opportunity.
The best leaders aren’t the ones who are never wrong. They are the ones who learn, adapt, and grow when they are wrong.
