‘We get it and we have listened’ said Kwasi Kwarteng at the start of last week as he announced that the government was abandoning plans to scrap the 45p tax rate.
Though not directly admitting to a mistake, he acknowledged that the decision was causing unrest and that a u-turn was the best way forward.
Have Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng made an even bigger bodge job of rectifying their bodged mini budget? Or have they gracefully and professionally admitted to, and rectified a mistake?
That’s for us all to decide! But as leaders in business this is (yet another) important moment in time and it’s an opportunity for us all to learn and improve our own skills.
None of us are infallible and we WILL all make mistakes, some small, some significant. And as long as we’re not making them on an all too regular basis, the issue is how re react and recover from them. Can we leave our egos at the door and showcase true leadership by recovering in a way that is right for our business as opposed to right for ourselves?
Here’s our top tips on rectifying bad decisions as leaders in practice.
1. Own your mistake.
Truly and properly. Brené Brown is a great source of motivational inspiration and she talks at length about the power of vulnerability. When a leader acknowledges that they are fallible and acknowledge their mistakes, the vast majority of the people that they lead will show empathy towards them and gladly get on board with supporting the solution.
So don’t pass the buck. Don’t shed the blame. Own your mistake.
2. Make the decision making process transparent and showcase learning.
What led you to make the bad call and if you could have done anything differently how will you ensure that next time the same mistake doesn’t happen again? This is true leadership and operational evolution.
3. What’s the best course of action now?
Can this mistake or bad decision be rectified? Or this far in do you need to secure the support of your workforce to stick with it despite acknowledging that it was a mistake. Buy in is key so decide what happens going forward and communicate it effectively.
4. Let your mistake shape you but NOT define you.
Depending on the severity of your mistake or bad call, you may or may not realistically expect it to be forgotten about quickly. There’s nothing wrong with letting a mistake shape your trajectory as a leader. Having a defining moment that you can use to showcase your own professional growth can be an inspiring thing and handled well that can become part of your career story. But there’s a difference between allowing this moment to shape you into a better leader and allowing it to define you as a leader.
If you’re finding that members of your workforce are struggling to move on from it, don’t be afraid to let them know they need to move on from it or move on elsewhere.
5. Remember how this moment felt as you lead others through their own mistakes.
This experience will make you a more empathetic and a better leader. Use this opportunity as a moment to evaluate the culture and values of your workforce and to check that they instil a system of growth and steer away from a culture of blame.
How you respond to failure or mistakes as a leader in practice will impact the way that your firm operates internally and is perceived externally. It will impact how you attract and retain staff and it will play a part in how productive and profitable your firm becomes.
Leadership is easy when everything is swinging in your favour. But the test of a true leader is how you react when times are tough and it will be interesting to see how the new members of our government respond to such a rocky start.
To explore more in our Leadership Lessons series take a look at our Employers Hub.
And for help recovering from any errors of judgement when it comes to recruitment, know you can always rely on us to act as your critical friend and trusted advisor. Our MD, Garry Howling would be delighted to speak to you today.
