Sorry. Did I make a mistake? What if you make a mistake and write another blog about mistakes? Or did I?
Yep. Probably. Ask my wife. Despite my short falls, I have a love and desire for the nature of managing and leading others. When doing that, I make mistakes.
At this moment, I am listening to Jennifer Knapp and trying to figure out the rest of my day. I am laying out my day and figuring out how it all worked. Did I do OK? Probably not. And by that I mean, I probably did not make some type of “aha” moment for someone. Is that what I wish for? Yes, in a way. I want someone to move. I want someone to grow, even if it is just an inch. While that may be perceived as arrogance, that is my objective. I truly wish every day that someone says “OK, I’ll buy that for a dollar (stolen line from Robocop).” And I realize that despite my best intentions, it depends. Yep, it depends. The phrase that confounds and perplexes my learners when I share time with them on leadership stuff. All things depend and sometimes those times involve some type of mistake. Ooopps. Holy…(expletive to be added as you see fit, I choose not).
What if I want to help my team do “x” and I drop the ball? Don’t we always drop the ball in some way or another? The quintessential rule is no one is perfect. For me that is calming. That also does not mean I do not strive for perfection. It does allows me to trip, stumble or fall when trying to get “x” done. It also allows my team to do the same. I have seen managers try way too hard to be perfect. They want to be first or best or smell the nicest. Whatever it is, I am not sure why that is. And to them a mistake can be catastrophic. Or worse (I think), a mistake made by another is viewed by that manager as catastrophic or scar to be worn for life.
Change is as much in life as is a lack of perfection. Change in many ways forces imperfection. As odd as this may sound, I love change for its lack of perfection. Uhh? Yep. I have never known any change in my life which has not forced in some way, large and small, mistakes. I have grown as a result of my mistakes. Mistake free life? I am pretty sure I have dreamt it, just haven’t experienced it. I am a praying person. And on more than one occasion have asked, “Change me.” That should not be taken as some dark realization of any sort. Seriously. St. Thomas Aquinas put together a process in his Summa Theologiae whereby “if this and this, therefore this”. I am incredibly over simplifying the process. His premise was on the existence of God. My reference is to see how mistakes and change go hand in hand. Go with me for a sec. An application of this process might be… Because I know there is not perfection (certainly not in me) and change is constant, I therefore will have each simultaneously. And look at each to be a tremendous learning experience. Yeah, pretty lame. Google St. Tom, probably a better read.
Is this the right question – “what I make a mistake?” Is the better “what if” question, “what if I want perfection and don’t get it?” Absolutism can cripple a person. It can create unrealistic expectations. It can make you see people not for what they are, but what you want them to be. People make mistakes and that is what makes them “them” – the frailties and the strengths. I find that it is in someone’s weakness, you see their strengths or in some cases their lack thereof. So where is the management or leadership message in this? Simply put, people fall. The message is to get back up and keep moving. Grow. Attempt to be perfect and then marvel at what you learn when you are not. A manager and leader will make a mistake and they people they manage and lead will make mistakes. Suck it up and move on scooter. This is a repeat phrase from another post; someone said they liked it.
So let’s pose the following questions and see how they might matter;
What if you make a mistake? Simple and easy to comprehend.
What someone else makes a mistake? This involves a different type of ownership and mindset.
What if there is more than one mistake? Focus may change in this scenario.
What if there is a mistake and no one notices, does it still make a sound? Sorry, couldn’t resist.
It has been said that a goal without a plan is just a dream. Can it also be said that a plan without mistakes is also a dream? So do we plan for them? Plan for mistakes? I say yes. Of course, I could be wrong. Is that a mistake?
Cheers