You are a VP of Operations who says, ‘I got that wrong’ in a room full of regional managers, and the trust in the room doubles.
Humility is the clearest signal of security and self-awareness!
Leaders who cannot admit error don’t protect authority. They invite their teams to quietly build workarounds while pretending everything is fine.
Admitting a misstep, course-correcting publicly, and staying in the room without defensiveness accelerates problem-solving faster than any strategy refresh.
Trusted leaders who model vulnerability by owning a mistake publicly build trust faster than those who don’t.
You say, ‘I got that wrong,’ and the room holds still for a moment. People will start talking, really talking. Humility won’t weaken your position. Just the opposite, it builds it.
The leader willing to be wrong is the leader people will follow into hard things. — Mike Brewer
Find one decision from the last thirty days worth reconsidering, and name it out loud to your team before they do.