Should Managers Admit Mistakes?

Some people think that managers should take the initiative to admit mistakes, so that they can not only make others believe in themselves, but also improve opportunities. Some people think managers should not take the initiative to admit mistakes, because that may reduce managers' prestige in the team, lose their trust in the top companies, and affect their future interests.

The two points of view are supported by examples.

Henry Paulson, the head of Goldman Sachs, talked about layoffs at an investor conference in 2003. "In almost every business, 15% to 20% people actually create 80% value", causing strong dissatisfaction among employees.

Shortly afterwards, Paulson apologized to the 20000 employees of the company for voicemail.

Lesley Gaines Ross, the chief knowledge and research officer of Boya public relations company, CEO capital, praised Paulson as the representative of "a more modest new generation of CEO". He believed that his mistake was a "power move" rather than a "sign of weakness" and "would help enhance the external reputation of Goldman Sachs".

Jiang Wei, President of Shenyang Feilong, publicly published the 20 major mistakes of the president in 1997. He will admit that he has made mistakes. But according to Jiang Wei himself, the employees dare to talk back, and the society and the government do not support it.

If a man is not perfect, who can be right? He must admit that he has made mistakes.

Because mistakes are clear, even if they are covered up for a while, there will always be a day of light. Mistakes can also become a handle for potential competitors, giving the other party a chance to play. At that time, apart from the mistakes themselves, managers should bear the dishonest "accusations" and have a more vicious impact on their future.

However, admit mistakes should also pay attention to methods, to recognize the mistakes of the team members, rather than the hypothetical errors in their own brains: the former is a practical mistake, a mistake that occurs in the process of achieving the goal, and a damage to the target; the latter can be strategic, too general, and managers can alert themselves, but to say that to team members is not necessarily appropriate.

Admit mistakes and control the scope of receiving objects. It is not necessary to let two people know that a single problem is a small part of the problem, so it is not necessary for everyone to be clear, unless it helps to enhance the cohesive force of the team, or to get the external recognition of the various forms of the team.

Relying on today's target management tools, managers can clearly discover their own mistakes in the process of achieving goals.

For example, the goal is postponed for some reason, and the commands, opinions and even conversations in the process of target management are recorded on different platforms. As long as a review is made, it is possible to find problems.

Using this powerful search engine, we can make more accurate positioning.

The most direct way to admit mistakes is to use instant messaging tools to communicate at the team level or at the level of the parties concerned.

You can send your apology to the relevant groups by broadcasting the news.

For a single person, you can use the above methods, or stay in the middle of each other's work log reviews.

Admitting mistakes is not a point, but a starting point. Finally, managers should lead teams to achieve goals.

Create an atmosphere of courage to admit mistakes and make efforts to correct mistakes. Finally, it is not just a team culture, but also a cohesive force.