Leadership For Lawyers: Admit When You’re Wrong

One of the toughest things to do in business is admit when you’re wrong. It’s also the gutsiest, and one of the most appreciated traits in a leader. And let’s face it, we’re human, so each and every one of us is fallible.

If you think you’re never wrong, be aware you’re the only person who believes that.

Here’s the skinny on why it’s critical to own up and ‘fess up to your screw ups: you create a more energized, streamlined, and ultimately profitable more business.

How? When a leader can admit fault, others in the organization can as well. This creates a culture of accountability as well a culture of candor. When people can speak freely without fear of repercussion, operational inefficiencies are weeded out, conflicts are spotted on the horizon, dependencies are laid clear, and your organization is set to continually improve.

And mistakes can be beautiful things. You’re going to learn a lot from them.

Lifehacker recently examined this topic in a recent post, Embrace the Inevitability of Being Wrong to Boost Workplace Productivity, and I address the importance of mistakes in my Ingite Law talk, Agile Legal Management: What Law Firms can Learn from the Software Industry (6 minutes long):