And here we are, at the sixth part of our series “12 weeks to accelerate your career”. Today, we’re diving into a behavior many dread, yet it’s fundamental to accelerating your career: the art of fully owning your mistakes.
It’s glaring when you look at children. The smaller they are, the more it’s the other person’s fault. As charming as it is for toddlers, it’s also penalizing for adults who haven’t made the transition.
They can’t find a job, or they can’t keep one.
But for most of us, it’s more subtle.
The pressure to perform is immense. We think the company culture doesn’t allow for mistakes. We tie our next promotion to our infallibility.
And often, in complex environments, it’s less about “obvious mistakes” and more about options that just didn’t deliver the expected results.
So, like a “perfect leader,” we skip over what didn’t work and move on to the next thing, hoping no one noticed.
In doing so, we miss a unique opportunity to stand out, learn, and increase our influence with our stakeholders.
The real question is not whether you’ll make mistakes, but how you’ll react to them.
4 concepts to turn your mistakes into an advantage for your development (and your career path).
1/ Owning Your Mistakes: The Superpower That Builds Trust and Psychological Safety
In the case of an obvious error, the easiest thing to do is :
“I made a mistake with (X). Here’s how I’m going to correct it.” Neither “but” nor “because”. Just straightforward ownership and a commitment to fix it. Ideally, this takes place “within 24 hours of the mistake”.
Why is it so powerful?
- It builds trust: When a leader takes responsibility for his mistakes openly, he shows vulnerability. As Brené Brown points out, vulnerability isn’t an option, it’s the way. Members of teams where trust reigns admit their weaknesses and mistakes, and offer or accept apologies without hesitation.
- This creates a learning culture: by modeling this behavior, the leader gives others permission to do the same. Mistakes are no longer taboo, but a normal part of the process.
In the book “Multipliers“, authors Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown, tell the story of a leader who puts a “Screwup of the week” section on the agenda of his weekly meeting. - It builds credibility: Paradoxically, admitting a mistake builds authority and respect. As Robert Iger (former Disney CEO) describes below.
“In your work, in your life, you’ll be more respected and trusted by the people around you if you honestly own up to your mistakes.”
2/ From Mistake to Asset: Turning Missteps into a Learning Engine
Every mistake, big or small, is raw data, a mine of valuable information for those who know how to exploit it. The aim is to examine the situation to understand what happened and what could be done differently.
Jim Collins, in his “manager as teacher” model, sees mistakes as opportunities to improve people’s abilities. He uses the event as a coaching opportunity. (Jim Collins, BE 2.0)
In my first job as head of a sales team, we built a Mind Map with our sales process. When I went out into the field with the teams, we’d take 15 minutes at the end to go over the sales talk, and the salesman would look for his different options at each stage. By the end of the year, the team, which had already achieved its best performance the previous year, set a new record with 30% growth.
3/ The 100% Responsibility Principle: Taking Back the Reins
Owning your mistakes is part of a broader stance: the 100% responsibility principle. This doesn’t mean being responsible for everything that happens (that would be unrealistic), but being 100% responsible for your response to events, your contribution, and, above all, the solutions you bring forward.
Tool: The Responsibility Journal.
- As with self-reflection, journaling can be powerful. After a significant event, ask yourself these questions:
- What was my part in this situation (action or inaction)?
- How did my answer influence the result?
- Regardless of external factors, what solution can I initiate or help to implement?
4/ Feedback: Your Indispensable Ally for Uncovering Blind Spots
Sometimes, we’re the last to see our own mistakes, especially those related to our behaviors or blind spots. This is where feedback becomes an invaluable ally.
Welcoming feedback – especially that which stings a little – encourages awareness and reveals areas for improvement. Intellectual humility, the ability to recognize that you may be wrong, is a prime quality of leadership.
Tool: Creating Feedback and Feedforward
- Conduct a 360° assessment through a third neutral party. ( A professional coach could do that)
- Group areas for improvement by theme.
- Choose one behavior to improve.
- Involve stakeholders by regularly asking them for feedback and suggestions for improvement ( Feedforward)
- Measure the results with your stakeholders.
(My coaching is based on this concept)
Owning Your Mistakes – The Signature of Leaders Who Grow and Help Others Grow
Leaders who master this art are not those who never fall down, but those who know how to get back up gracefully, learning from every misstep.
Your turn:
Think about a recent decision, project, or professional interaction where the outcome wasn’t optimal. Instead of ignoring, minimizing, or justifying it, consciously apply this approach:
- Acknowledge it (even if only to yourself at first, if it’s difficult).
- Verbalize it if necessary: “I made a mistake regarding X.”
- Identify the lesson: “What I’m learning from this is…”
- Propose a correction/improvement: “Here’s what I’m going to do to adjust/fix/improve.”
Observe the impact. On yourself. On others if you share it. You may be surprised at the power of this “little behavior” that inspires great respect.
Ready to turn your mistakes into your best allies for growth?
In the same series :
- Part I: How to apply “Start with the End in Mind” to accelerate your career: A 12-week guide
- Part Two: Active listening: the key skill for accelerating your career advancement (and how to develop it)
- Part Three: How to develop your employees’ potential: the ultimate guide for leaders
- Part Four: How to accelerate your career by mastering uncertainty
- Part five: 4 essential self-reflection tools for developing your leadership skills
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PS: Whenever you’re ready, here are 2 more ways I can help you accelerate your career through coaching:
For Aspiring C-Suite Executives:
Accelerate your rise to leadership: I help you create your global vision and develop a plan to accelerate your journey. Contact me and let’s find out if we can work together.
For Current C-Suite Executives:
Increase your impact as a leader: You know that even small improvements at your level can generate significant organizational results and career acceleration. I’ll work with you on your project and guarantee the results. Contact me and let’s see if we can work together.
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