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29th November 2011 by Claire Hill

So you’ve made a mistake.

It’s no fun. But it’s pretty normal.

I don’t think great leaders are people who don’t mistakes – I think they’re people who are good at learning from them.

Take a look at this poem by Portia Nelson. It’s called Autobiography in Five Short Chapters.

Chapter 1
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost … I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit … but,
my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter 4
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter 5
I walk down another street.

Chapter 1 is something that we all experience.

We all make mistakes. We all “fall into a hole” either because we lack certain knowledge or background information or we don’t know what to expect.

But here’s the thing. Some people learn straight away. They stop, they assess what has happened, they apply what they’ve learned and they “take a different street”. Others take a little longer to learn the lesson – making the mistake twice or three times before changing their ways. Others never learn the lesson and continually repeat the same mistake.

Learning from mistakes

Here are just a few random mistakes I have made so far as a leader …

• Started my first ministry job and said “yes” to every ministry invitation that sounded exciting. I found myself stressed and in the middle of a six-week-long no-weekend-off patch, I offended my friends because I was never around and my husband was coming in a clear second to my ministry.
• Led a camp for 18 girls from underprivileged backgrounds. It was a great success. The following year there was a massive attendance demand from corps’, so I planned for there to be 50 places for girls. A wise camp-veteran suggested that this might not be a good idea. He outlined the reasons. I ignored him. During the camp I discovered that he was absolutely right and really regretted not taking his advice on board.
• Drove for 4 hours to present at a girl’s camp and discovered, after pulling in to the car park, that I had forgotten the bag with my notes, DVD clips and props. I winged it and gave a very average (probably below average) talk to the precious girls I had been invited to share with.

With each of these I could cringe, cry and move on with my life or I could STOP, ASSESS & APPLY.

Stop, Assess & Apply

Stop

Rather than just moving straight on with the next thing, create space to learn as much as possible from the mistake.

Assess

Consider:

• What went wrong?
• Were there multiple small mistakes that led to the larger one?
• Is there an overarching principal I can take from this?
• What actions (or lack of) led to the mistake?
• What should I do differently next time?
• Were there untrue assumptions made?

Apply

What action will you take to ensure that the mistake isn’t repeated?

• Are there some new boundaries I need to establish?
• Are there some reminders I should set to ensure I haven’t forgotten this lesson in two months?
• Who can I share this lesson with so that I have a better chance of remembering it?

I’d be a massive liar if I claimed that I always stop, assess and apply the first time I make a mistake. My husband and close friends would confirm that this is not the case!

But I’m striving to be like the wise leaders I know who, after making a mistake are humble, proactive and even enthusiastic about milking that mistake for all the wisdom it can bring!!!

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