Admit mistakes. Have a good sense of humor, but be the first one to recognize that there are going to be times when you make a mistake, and you don’t take that personally. People have to see that in a leader.
I often will be the first one very quickly to acknowledge that I screwed up or that I goofed. And the sooner one does that and you don’t fall into the trap of trying to cover up for errors — and truly, all of us make errors — the sooner you can acknowledge that, I think you’ll find that not only will most people understand, but then they’ll go out of their way to help you correct it.
If you’re not making mistakes, you’re probably not pushing your leadership agenda strongly enough. If you’re constantly going to be looking at decisions in which there are no errors made, you’re probably not as aggressive enough a leader as you need to be.
So I think you need to understand that mistakes are going to be inevitable, and people are going to understand that you’re doing everything in your power to correct and to minimize mistakes.
Listen instead of just hearing. You have to have an open mind.
Listening is a skill. People are always encouraging me to talk more, [but] I learn more when I’m listening.
People have to learn quickly from you that you are open to listening. I think anytime one becomes the CEO, there’s always a tendency to think that that person is in a decision-making mode and does much of the talking. There has to be some role reversal so people do understand that the CEO needs to listen.
My first approach for any problem is to gather as much information as I possibly can before I proceed to make a decision. You bring the right group of people together so that you can actually listen, and then on your own you try to process any and all information that you have.
HOW TO REACH: Arthritis Foundation, (800) 283-7800 or www.arthritis.org
