Employees want a leader who is strong and resolute, not one who is wishy-washy. Managers believe that the more confident they appear the more likely their employees will follow their lead. But what if they are wrong? The best leaders have the courage to admit when they make a mistake.

My friend Ann manages a small company that was in danger of closing its doors and going out of business. The company had been successful for many years, but had been floundering since the company’s founder died four years ago. The company was a mess. There were no written policies and very little consistency in how things were done. Ann knew when she took the job that unless the small team of dedicated employees got more focused and organized they were doomed to fail.

Instead of charging in and making wholesale changes that would upset and alienate the employees, she charted a course for gradual, incremental change. The previous manager (the founder’s son) made it known it was “his way or the highway.” He discouraged independent thinking, making it clear that he was the decider. Ann’s approach was the exact opposite. She invited dialogue. She got crucial buy-in for change by asking the employees what they thought would work the best. As you can imagine, it took awhile for the employees to get used to assuming personal responsibility for outcomes.

A few weeks ago the staff had a teachable moment when two of the guys in the warehouse made a doozey of a mistake that cost the company several thousand dollars. The guys fully expected to be fired, but instead Ann congratulated them for taking the initiative to make a decision, even though it ended up to be the wrong one. At the next staff meeting they reviewed the situation and discussed how the error could have been avoided. She knew that she was making progress when the two guys who made the error volunteered to write up a procedure for handling similar situations.

Then Ann surprised everyone by admitting that she too had made errors in the last few months and had learned some important lessons. Why did she admit to her entire staff that she had made mistakes? Because as a leader, Ann knew that changing her company’s culture to one that accepts mistakes will not only make it easier for people to admit their errors and correct them, but it will foster an atmosphere of openness and honesty.

As a wise man once said ‘An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.’