This Week’s Advice: Growing from your Leadership Mishaps

By Barbara Mutedzi

Think back to all the leadership positions you have held up until now:
What did you do right so you can do more of that?

What did you not do so well?

What was going on within you, that made you not do so well?
Have you processed those emotions and feelings with another person?

What can you do to improve on what you did not do so well?

Think of the people you work with now. The people that you lead. Think of their tangible differences. Race, color / tone of skin, gender, position in the organization, community or nation, the way they dress, talk or speak.

Do you treat and or behave differently to each one depending on the things you see?

If so, why do you think you do? What beliefs do you have that may be directing the way you treat, behave or interact with them?

Are these beliefs real and true? According to whom? Really evaluate this.

If you don’t, what got you to a position where you truly treat each person as a fellow human being worthy of respect, just as you yourself are worthy of respect, space and acknowledgement?

For the previous question – really evaluate if you really treat all people as the humans they are. There is a lot of unconscious bias that we may not be aware of – hence Unconscious.

Perhaps speak to the people around you to ask them if you do treat different people differently.

What are you doing to support, nurture and mentor the leaders you are leading? Current, emerging and future leaders.

*Barbara Mutedzi is a life coach