Mistakes Don't Matter...

This week's blog post comes from Jack Woelber.

I was recently at an event for my daughter. It was the “dress rehearsal” for a music contest. For the event, they had a director from another community come in and critique all the individuals and small groups in order to give them some final polish before the contest. Amazing, isn’t it? Why do we seem to listen more closely to those who come in as an expert but don’t have any more credentials than those with whom we get to work with every day? A group had just performed, and things didn’t go quite as well as they had hoped. The critic commented to the group, “Mistakes don’t matter…as long as you recover well.”  I was sitting in the audience next to my daughter as the comment was made and leaned over to her and whispered, “What a great life lesson.” 

As you read this you are probably thinking a couple of things: 

1. That poor girl. She sure has a geek for a dad.
2. Oh, that phrase the critic gave is a good topic for a leadership blog.

While both are probably accurate, I’d like you to focus more on the second item and the phrase, “Mistakes don’t matter…as long as you recover well.” My dad used to remind me that the only people who don’t make mistakes are those that don’t do anything. As leaders, we are going to make mistakes. Of course, we are going to try to mitigate as many mistakes as we can before making a decision, but if we don’t dare make a mistake, we won’t do anything. 

We need to remember: it’s not about the mistake -- it’s about how we recover. After time passes, most people won’t even remember the mistake; they will remember the result. And the results are determined by how we recover.   

So my challenge for all of us is: “Don’t focus on the mistake,” rather “Focus on recovering and recovering well.” If you are in a leadership role, I’m guessing you already do this, but it was a great reminder for me.  (And one more opportunity to encourage my daughter in a life lesson! J) 

Continue Leading the Interstates Way!
Jack Woelber

Can You Be Great?

This week's blog post comes from Scott Peterson.

Can you be great?

 

You Betcha!!  Absolutely!!  Without a Doubt!! 

I hope that is clear enough. I believe this is true because of one of my favorite quotes. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Everyone can be great because everyone can serve." I love this quote because it helps me keep my priorities straight.   

The foundation of great leadership is about focus. When you focus on serving your teams and the people that you care about, good things will happen. What does it mean to serve those people? I can't answer that question perfectly, but here are a couple of ideas: 

1. Get to know your team and what they need (which is often different than what they want).   
2. Give them feedback, direction, and share the “why” with them (this helps them feel connected to the big picture).
3. Listen. It sounds really easy, but it can be a tough thing to do, so keep practicing this.  
4. Show them that you care. You've probably heard this quote, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." (John Maxwell)  This is so true, and it's a great reminder when you're thinking of how you can serve others. 

Overall, I have found that the better I serve the people around me, the better I lead. When I lose that focus, I make mistakes in leading. The right focus allows me to have a positive impact on people, teams, and organizations that are important to me. I hope it helps you too.  

Take two minutes and share a couple of ideas on how we can serve our teams and lead the Interstates way together. 

 

Continue Leading the Interstates Way!

Scott Peterson