The 13 Behaviors: #4 Right Wrongs 2/1/2018

The 13 Behaviors: #4 Right Wrongs* Righting wrongs is about more than apologizing it's also about setting things straight (making restitution). Doing this takes humility since there is both an emotional cost, admitting fault, and a real (often monetary) cost, paying to make up for the error. Often immature leaders think that by admitting wrong that they are somehow weakening their position. In the movie "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" screen legend John Wayne, playing CPT Nathan Brittles, says "You're not quite "Army" yet, miss... or you'd know never to apologize... it's a sign of weakness." Even in the film "Patton" the forced apology is only through gritted teeth. Often in our popular culture strong figures are those who never admit fault, but in reality leaders who can tactfully and artfully admit their weaknesses can build teams that are stronger than the sum of their parts, far beyond the abilities of the individual leader. Often the real problem is the ego of the leader; some leaders would rather the whole team go down in defeat than admit fault, apologize and fix the problem. Often the difference between success and failure is being able to quickly admit mistakes, set things right, build the team and maintain trust.* Both the book and the Strong Bonds curriculum explain these principals in great detail and help you figure out how to apply them in your context.** Army Leadership Doctrine: The Army puts great faith in leaders at all levels even giving commanders non-judicial authority. FM 6-22, para 7-14 to 7-18 talk about building a climate of trust. Table 7-9 indicates that leaders should "admit mistakes." You can learn more about the "Art" of admitting failure at https://hbr.org/2011/03/the-art-of-admitting-failure *This is a reflection on a section of pages 158-164 of the book "The Speed of Trust" by Steven M.R. Covey which is the basis of the Strong Bonds curriculum The Speed of Trust for Families/Marriages/Soldiers. I highly recommend both!