I have a love \/ hate relationship with mistake making ... errors ... failures. I try to teach others that mistake making is the only way we truly learn. Yet, I still hate making mistakes. Worse yet, I hate to admit them. But I have tried to remind myself how important it is to own mistakes when they happen. Hiding mistakes works in very rare occasions. In most instances, it comes back to bite you. Even worse, blaming your mistakes on someone else creates a culture that is toxic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My good friend, Dave Bair, always says that learning is the ability to detect and correct errors and that the goal is to do this at ever-increasing rates of speed and with precision.<\/em><\/strong> I agree that the most valuable lessons learned in life weren\u2019t from \u2019getting it right.\u2019 Rather, the best teachers were lessons taught when I got it wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I read a news article this morning that drove home this point. It was an article about the distribution of the Phizer COVID-19 vaccine. States found that they were getting quantities 40 percent less than was expected. Finally, Gen. Gustave Perna, COO for Operation Warp Speed spoke up and explained the confusion. And he owned the mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"At the end of the day, I accept responsibility for the miscommunication,\" he said. <\/p> \"Where I failed \u2013 I failed, nobody else failed \u2013 is to have a clear understanding of that cadence. <\/p>Weiss, E. (2020). \u201cStates were left scrambling after finding out they\u2019d get 20-40% less vaccine that promised. We now know why\u201d (USA Today, 19 December 2020).<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t know Gen. Perna and wouldn\u2019t recognize him I saw him on a news program, yet I immediately have mad respect for the man. Anyone who can publicly and simply say, \u201cThat was my mistake; I own it.\u201d That man is worthy of respect in my opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While I\u2019m sure Perna doesn\u2019t revel in the mistake he made, I think we can all learn something from it. How different would our world be if people could simply say, \u201cYeah, that was my fault. I own that.\u201d No defensiveness. No debate. No blaming. Just honest, sincere admission of the mistakes that we all make. Own it. Grow from it. And move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think the world ... our political environment ... our relationships ... might just be a bit better off if we were to begin to follow Perna\u2019s example. I\u2019m trying to become better at this. I hope you will join me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have a love \/ hate relationship with mistake making … errors … failures. I try to teach others that mistake making is the only way we truly learn. Yet, I still hate making mistakes. Worse yet, I hate to admit them. But I have tried to remind myself how important it is to own […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":119266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[31],"tags":[121,113,112,58,124,71,88,120,59,114],"class_list":["post-2225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main","tag-career-development","tag-decision-making","tag-goals","tag-leadership","tag-learning","tag-life-lessons","tag-mentoring","tag-servant-leadership","tag-teams","tag-vulernability"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/pexels-photo-6382634.jpeg?fit=1880%2C1253&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pzg9k-zT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1515,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/when-it-just-doesnt-go-your-way\/","url_meta":{"origin":2225,"position":0},"title":"When It Just Doesn’t Go Your Way","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"November 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Let's face it. We've all had days where things didn't go quite like we expected. We had a plan and that plan was in motion. Suddenly everything gets changed. I had a week like that recently. Things were moving along when suddenly the brakes got applied by someone else driving\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1053,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/leading-is-letting-go\/","url_meta":{"origin":2225,"position":1},"title":"Leading is Letting Go","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"December 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Serving in a local church for many years, I was always looking for ways to be a better leader. I was constantly in search of secret clues to uncover the mystery of what makes for a good leader. Now serving in a broader role as coach for churches, I am\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1084,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/my-character-is-more-important-than-my-capability\/","url_meta":{"origin":2225,"position":2},"title":"My Character is More Important than my Capability","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"February 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Tonight I was reading an article that I marked on my reading list several months ago. It was basically a summary of how Americans are dissatisfied with their jobs, and the majority of those reasons are based upon dissatisfaction with their boss. Upon my initially reading and immediate emotional reactions,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":212418,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/the-system-vs-your-soul-how-senior-leaders-reframe-criticism\/","url_meta":{"origin":2225,"position":3},"title":"The System vs. Your Soul: How Senior Leaders Reframe Criticism","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"March 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"High-capacity, high-care leaders often risk tying their identity too closely to outcomes and other people's reactions. When ownership increases, so does emotional exposure, causing feedback to land on your identity instead of just your role. This post shares a framework to build durable internal boundaries, allowing you to keep listening\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"train, mountains, fields, rice fields, rice plantation, rice farm, rice paddies, railway, railroad, railway system, passenger train, transport, rural, countryside, landscape, nature","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5665066.webp?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5665066.webp?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5665066.webp?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5665066.webp?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5665066.webp?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1048,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/we-already-do-that\/","url_meta":{"origin":2225,"position":4},"title":"We Already Do That","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"October 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I've heard it what seems like a hundred times \u2014 \"we already do that.\" In an age of leadership information overload, there is no lack of information on leadership. Simply subscribe to a dozen 'leadership gurus,' and your Twitter feed will be filled with today's list of \"how to's\" and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":962,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/the-leadership-laboratory\/","url_meta":{"origin":2225,"position":5},"title":"The Leadership Laboratory","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"January 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Our leadership lifeGROUP at Living Stones recently began a new series based on a book by Jeff Iog titled\u00a0The Character of Leadership: Nine Qualities that Define Great Leaders. 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