Smart as you are, it’s bound to happen. Challenges in the workplace are only getting more complex, and whether it’s an issue with staff, products, or service delivery – not owning up to it can be costly. Learn the importance of acknowledging when it’s “your day to be human” and the importance of allowing others to be human too. Not standing up to a mistake doesn’t make you any more right, and it costs you credibility and respect of those affected. Handled well, acknowledging mistakes can contribute the health of an organization, as well as provide greater opportunity to set things right.

If you have visibility in your organization, you have legend. Do you know – is it good or bad? Are you Superman to your staff, or Martin Milquetoast? How does the legend within your trusted circle compare to that in the rest of the organization? Is the reputation you acquired early in the organization limiting you now? Does your personal legend extend outside your organization? Recognizing – and shaping – your personal legend can strengthen your standing and set the psychic tone for your entire organization.

What’s your legend?

Issues in your work group may be caused in part by the way in which you lead, if like most contemporary business managers you follow a hierarchical model of leadership. Hierarchical organizations tend to show intolerance of risk and error; limited creative license in developing new business; high turnover among key performers; paranoia; abuse of trust; difficulty getting cooperation from anyone except your trusted circle; and inability to attract or retain the “whiz kids” who expect to be fully engaged in the enterprise. If your organization is broken, and you can’t see why, it may be you!

The youngest members of the workforce grew up in a world that is light years away from that of the current crop of CEOs. They often function in groups, not solo. With Facebook, Twitter, IM, blogs, and role playing games that span the internet, they are ambassadors of globalization, many already having friends from all over the world. Google and Wikipedia are their primary reference sources. They have processed more information by the time they graduate from college than many of the current workforce will see in a lifetime. They want to be fully engaged in their work groups. Existing organizations are challenged to welcome them without scaring away all the oldsters; smart organizations find opportunities to learn from them.

What would you do to make best use of the skills from all age groups in your organization?

The plan was to bring in a superstar to fill that strategic niche that none of the rest of the team quite covered. The candidate looked good on paper, and interviewed well. Unfortunately, the new hire has gone from super star to black hole.  The strategic niche is still not covered, and the rest of the team is getting burned.

What would you do?

• If Aristotle Ran General Motors; Tom Morris, 1997, New York: Owl Books.
• The Servant; A Simple Story about the True Essence of Leadership; Hunter, J.C., 1998, Roseville, California: Prima Publishing.