10. Leader Mistakes

1. leader error: An avoidable action or inaction is chosen by a leader which results in an initial outcome outside of the leader’s original intent, goal, or prediction

2. uniqueness:  

complex role ---- likely to make mistakes

public role ---- visible

influential role ---- harmful

3. Reasons for mistakes

1)Individual Level

•Individual differences(e.g., need for closure)

•Negativeemotions – anger, in particular

•Expertise if the situation is new or novel

•Sunk-Cost

•Fatigue

2)Group Level

•Lack of structure (info overload)

•Lack of participative safety

•Cohesion or groupthink

3)Organization Level

•Dispersed communication structures

•Weak error management culture

•High time pressure

4)Cross Level Effects

4. Error Recovery Strategies

1)Apology: Take responsibility for the mistake and show regret.

2)Justification: Attempting to make error seem legitimate under the circumstances.

3)Excuse/Blame: An explanation that includes a mitigating circumstance

4)Denial: No response or an outright refusal to admit wrongdoing.

5. competence violation vs. integrity violation

•Most people assume thatintegrity is a stable trait while competence is variable depending on context.

•For an integrity based error, it is best to deflect blame since once integrity is lost, it cannot be regained.

•For a competence based error, it is better to admit responsibility since people believe that you learn best from your mistakes when you admit them.