Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 6

LEADERSHIP

Continued from pg. 4

the same thing in your
situation.

2. LEARN FROM
THE MISTAKE, THEN
DON'T REPEAT IT.

This well-known quote
sheds insight onto this
point: "You can never
make the same mistake
twice because the second
time you make it, it's not
a mistake, it's a choice."
Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant
offered sound advice
along these lines when he
famously said, "When you
make a mistake admit it,
learn from it, don't repeat
it."
The reality is that anyone who tries new things,
seizes the initiative, and
makes decisions is going
to make mistakes. We all
do "stupid" things from
time to time but the key
to growth is doing "new"
stupid things, not the
same old stupid things.
Doing the same stupid
things indicates you are
unaware, unteachable,
undisciplined, or worse.
Doing new stupid things
demonstrates you've left
your comfort zone, tried
something different, and
now have an opportunity
to learn what didn't work,
so you can get it right next
time.

3. TEACH OTHERS
FROM YOUR
MISTAKES. This builds

trust, connection, and
bondedness with team
members. John Maxwell
put it well: "If you want to
impress others, talk about
your successes. But if you
want to impact them, talk
about your mistakes."

4. GET OVER IT AND
MOVE ON. Continuing

to rehearse, rehash, or

6

JANUARY 2018

blame yourself for the
mistake is a mistake that
compounds the original
mistake. If you've admitted it, learned from it, and
adjusted because of it,
move on to gaining new
ground.
With the four previous
tips in mind, let's move
onto Phase Two.

PHASE TWO: HOW
TO HANDLE THE
MISTAKES OF OTHERS
1. DON'T GET

CARELESS! If ignorance
is bliss you must be the
happiest man on earth!"

3. FOCUS THE PERSON ON SOLUTIONS
NOT ON SCAPEGOATS.

An employee mistake is
an unparalleled coaching
opportunity. Look at it as a
teaching tool, not a battering ram. Help the person
think for themselves and
take ownership concerning what they could have
done better and how

...'YOU CAN NEVER
MAKE THE SAME
MISTAKE TWICE
BECAUSE THE SECOND
TIME YOU MAKE IT, IT'S
NOT A MISTAKE, IT'S A
CHOICE.'"
PERSONAL. Focus

on the issue without
getting personal with the
individual that caused
the issue. There's a big
difference between calling
an action "idiotic" and
calling someone an idiot.
Attack the performance;
coach the performer.

2. ADDRESS A
MISTAKE IN DIRECT,
PROFESSIONAL
TERMS, WITHOUT
UNNECESSARY
DRAMA OR
EXAGGERATION.

Again, be direct and
professional, but also be
conversational. There's
no need to pile on by
injecting unnecessary
hype or drama with
statements like, "I can't
BELIEEEEVE you
could do something so
INSIPIDLY FOOLISH and

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

they'll improve next time.
Asking questions like:
"What should you have
done better, or instead?",
"What do you recommend we do from here?",
"What did you learn and
how can you ensure you
don't repeat the error?",
are non-confrontational,
collaborative ways to
help the person grow by
causing them to think and
commit to act.
4. WHEN
CONFRONTING A
MISTAKE, DON'T
RATTLE OFF THEIR
RAP SHEET OF
PAST UNRELATED
MISTAKES. Again, this

is a coaching opportunity,
not an indictment. You're
not proving a case in
court; you're addressing
and correcting a behavior.
Keep the main thing the

main thing. Rehashing
past, unrelated mistakes
is debilitating and distracts
from the matter at hand.
Engaging in "rap sheet
rehearsal" will also break
trust and credibility if you
do the same with family
or friends. It's a recipe for
ending up miserable and
alone in your life.

5. ENCOURAGE THE
PERSON TO TAKE
ANOTHER SHOT. Mak-

ing mistakes can cause
others to procrastinate,
become passive and lose
their killer instinct; especially when a mistake is
handled improperly. It's a
shame when this happens, because mistakes
are a part of the growth
process. When someone
stops trying, both they-
and the organization-
miss out and fail to cash in
on the mistake's benefits
of: learning from the errors, learning a better way,
and growing as a person.
In such cases all they,
and we, pay is the price
for the error and never get
the payoff the price could
have brought us.

DAVE ANDERSON is
President of LearnToLead,
which provides in-person and
virtual training to many of
the world's best dealerships.
Dave speaks to dealer
groups over 125 times
each year and has given
seminars in 15 countries.
He's written the leadership
column for Dealer Magazine
for the past 15 years. Dave's
13th book, "It's Not Rocket
Science: 4 Simple Strategies
for Mastering the Art of
Execution" is now available
worldwide. For leadership
tips follow Dave on Twitter @
DaveAnderson100. EMAIL:
dave@learntolead.com
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - January 2018
