Accept accountability

If you’re like me, your house or apartment has become your office, school, gym, and much more for your entire family. Stay-at–home has become business as usual and many people are looking for ways to transform their homes into ideal “staycation” spots – into their own little private resorts. People are really interested in making their house a place that they want to spend a lot of time at. These staycation transformations are driving gains in stocks such as Home depot, Etsy, Apple, Best buy, Bed Bath and Beyond.

As this black swan event drags on, leaders in every industry are moving urgently to embrace a new agenda—one aimed squarely at what comes next - with actions ranging from rapid responses to more fundamental, strategic shifts. Clarity of thinking, communications, and decision-making will be at a premium.

A few people are blessed with a built-in GPS mechanism and always makes the correct turn and ends up where they intended. They are our role models and heroes. We all know people like this. For some of us, it's our mums or dads. For others, it's a partner (the proverbial "better half"). For others (like me) it's a success coach or a mentor.

Let me share something that is true. I am not one of those blessed with an internal compass. It's not that I don't know who I am or where I am going or what I want to achieve. Not is it that I don't have an adequate sense of self-worth. What's wrong is that I have no idea how my behaviour is coming across to the people who matter my boss, colleagues, subordinates and customers.

Character doesn't come from going to a seminar or reading a book. While those things can help, character is formed by continued hard work and intentional effort. I want desperately to be a man of high moral and character.

If you're like me, we need honest, helpful feedback. Feedback tells us what to change, not how to do it. And when we know what to change, we're ready to start changing ourselves and how people perceive us.

You know the old saying: to err is human, to forgive divine. When you make a mistake, give the people you work with a shot at divinity. Admit your error. Own up. Then propose a course to correct the mistake. Never use your authority to mask your mistakes. Admit them. Apologize for them.

If it isn't obvious by now, I regard apologizing  as the most healing, restorative gesture human beings can make. Admitting you were wrong is tough for some people to do - but brilliant for those who can. Express your regret, offer no excuses, take full responsibility. Once you admit an error, look to the future. What have you learned? How will you keep this from happening again? Reflect, learn and adjust your behaviour.

In fact, great leaders know that when you are willing to admit your own mistakes and genuinely listen to critical feedback - without rationalizing, justifying or placing blame - you get to turn these moments into learning opportunities for yourself and "teachable moments" for your team. You create a more open and collaborative culture among your team members - without the pressure and fear of anyone pretending to know it all. This kind of authenticity and transparency ultimately gives others permission to be open about their weaknesses and fears too.

We can't undo our errors, but we can learn from them. If we don't learn, the lessons get harder. Regretting our mistakes is not the same as learning the lesson. We are not here to be perfect, but to live and learn, to fall and to rise again - to evolve and strive toward our highest potential. May this painful experience become a blessing that transforms your life.