Describe an instance in your leadership role where you’ve made a mistake. Did you admit to and correct it? What were the results?

As a parent I had made many mistakes. I can recount more than once losing my temper and yelling at my kids. I had to go to them and apologize. It took time, but I overcame the mistake of losing my temper to that extent. They were able to witness the parent admitting fault and apologizing.

I made the following mistake whilst in the leadership role of a USPS (post office) Level 17 Supervisor Customer Service in Hankinson, ND: I lost my temper with the window clerk, and apologized. Nonetheless, she filed a grievance against me; I resigned from that position May of 2020, and now I am a local truck driver in Grand Forks, ND.

It happened as being a Father. I made a bad disciplinary decision that caused division in our home. I admitted to my kids that I was wrong and made the necessary corrections personally to make it better. However, my kids are still upset but I know that God will honor me and will bring restoration to my family.

I’m the father of adult sons . One day one of my sons came to me for some advise. I was reluctant to tell him what was truly in my heart and gave him what he wanted to hear. My spirit was troubled . I prayed to the Lord and sought his council . Afterwards I returned to my son and explained to him I was wrong and informed him what the Lord says about his situation . I believe this created equity within our relationship. We must never be afraid to give someone Gods truth because he will take care of the circumstances.

I have a hard time admitting to another that I made a mistake. I will try to cover it up. I don’t recall a time when I admitted a mistake. I was usually caught. Obviously my growth is in admitting and correcting my mistakes.

In my leadership role as an Aunt, I made the mistake of disciplining my nephew for something he did not do. We were on vacation and he has asked me if he could jump off of our neighbors dock. I said “no” because it does not belong to us. About 10 minutes later, I saw him jump off the dock. Immediately, I yelled his name and started discipling him in front of everyone. First of all, children should not be disciplined in public because it is embarrassing. Typically, kids miss the lesson you are trying to teach them because they are too concerned with all the people watching. Secondly, I did not realize that the owner of the house had given him permission to jump off the dock. After getting upset and punishing my nephew, he was able to speak and explain the situation. I had to humble myself and ash my nephew for his forgiveness. Jumping to conclusions and preventing him from speaking, caused me to make a mistake and yell at my nephew when it was not called for. Eventually, he forgave me and went on having a lovely family vacation at the beach.

As a parent, leading my children brought me through a few trials. When circumstances required a reaction, sometimes, without knowing the full details, I behaved radically by either overreacting or under reacting. Learning more detail of the situation, I knew I had to make things right by apologizing and committing to being more aware before jumping to any conclusions. As a result the lines of communication became more open, honest, and productive with my children.

Important decisions at the corporate (Board) and church (Council) levels are mainly achieved on a collective decision basis. This is not based on an individual ‘s decision.
Whenever we made a mistake, we always adopt the following steps:
a) Accept and admit the mistakes
b) Reasons for the wrong decision and what we could do to improve
c) What remedial action could we take to correct the wrong decision, for example, a church planted in a bad locality?
Understanding our decision-making biases, and formulating a plan to overcome them, can help make us more thoughtful next time.