I want to be right, you want to be right, we all want to be right… but at what cost? When you are the boss, manager, leader, etc. – the cost of being right can be your staff. When people in your employ come to feeling a certain way or having a particular view of the company; you may not agree, but don’t fight to be right. When you put a person down for having a differing view or set of feelings, by saying they are wrong, you are creating a situation where an employee will no longer have brand loyalty.
People feel the way they do for many reasons. The key to good leadership is understanding why they feel the way they do. If you need to not be wrong, then you will never see the value in another opinion and you will be crippled by lack of staff and relegated to solopreneurship. If you want a to create a business that will last, you have to empathetic and understand that being right in business is creating a scale-able business that is profitable and a place employees want to work. Lacking empathy creates a company that is just a stepping stone for employees. I don’t want to fill the same position over and over. I want to find the right person that will get the benefit of doing their job for them and for the company.
Being wrong or perceived as wrong, with the ability to own it – that is what shows real strength and build confidence in a staff. People can’t trust you if you are always fighting to be personally right at all costs. Without trust, you can’t build anything that will last.
Brian Wright
CEO Phitin
Owner, Killer B Combat Sports