I messed up

Ever made a big mistake? Nah, me neither.

Of course, the hard part is admitting it to others. Because you’re supposed to be the one with the answers and solid judgment, right?

The truth is that you can admit your weakness. It’s OK to be human.

What you’re also doing is modeling good behaviors for your team. Because when they make a mistake, or notice something awry, you want them to think through:

• What exactly is happening here?
• What’s the best way to fix it?
• How can we ensure this doesn’t happen again?

That second bullet is tricky, because we haven’t defined the word “best”. It could mean quickest, getting us back to the original state, minimum cost, or something else. So when you show your team how you thought through a challenging situation, you’re helping them to see what “best” means in your context.

And you’re giving them permission to fix the problem, rather than just hiding it away.

Which is what you want, right?