Every day I make mistakes. But, I also try to figure out what I have learned from making those mistakes. Because if I don't-- then shame on me.
Here are a few lessons I've learned in the past few weeks/months/year:
1. I have been burned so many times by this ... you read an e-mail, react too quickly and post a response in turn, without understanding the complete context of the issue at hand. I have renewed my vow to ditch the email response and go directly to the source by contacting them via phone, in-person, etc. An e-mail response might seem quicker in the short-term but what usually happens is you end up taking time to draft a response, subsequently it's mis-interpreted and then you spend more time trying to "fix" what has now become an even larger issue.
2. Compassion is key. Compassion or understanding is certainly a close relative to being a communicator. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. When you are in a meeting, hear a comment and have an immediate visceral reaction to what the other person said, stop and ask yourself, "Why?" Think about the other person's perspective, their expertise and why they said what they did. This simple pause allows you to re-evaluate their comments and gives you time to think about how you should frame your comments.
3. Empowerment is everything. And, it can also be one of the scariest things to do as a leader. I have one of the best teams assembled in a small business today but at times it's still difficult for me to take a back seat. Fortunately, due to my hectic schedule, it forces me to do just that-- let go. There is no greater reward than allowing the team to go forth, spread their wings and fly.
My bottom line? I'm going to make every mistake worth its while.
