Why Being Wrong Will Make You a Better Leader

Lead as if you’re right; listen as if you’re not.

Lead as if you’re right; listen as if you’re not.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Being right is not a badge of honor, but a temporary status.

Our brain is wired for self-deception — we become immune to facts.

If you hold a position of power, it’s even worse. Leaders are more prone to suffer from ‘Confirmation Bias’ or ‘Error Blindness.” They filter the information that supports their beliefs. Or don’t realize their mistakes until it’s too late.

By being okay with being wrong, you keep your mind open. Rather than trying to win every argument, you pay attention to facts, not to what will help you defeat others.

Andy Grove, Intel’s co-founder, summarized this approach as the courage and confidence to act on what you know right now, along with the humility to course correct when new information comes along.

Read on to discover the keys reasons why you might think you are always right — and what happens when you lead as if you’re right and listen as if you’re not.

1. You think ‘being right’ ga…