It sure would be nice if we could all learn to be more effective leaders without making any mistakes. However, while none of us would wish for mistakes, many of us learn the most from past missteps. In this episode, I talk about the value of mistakes and highlight six mistakes that I have made as the host of this show.

I discuss the mistakes that I made in starting my first business many years ago and what I learned from these mistakes.

I the more recent past, here are the six mistakes that I’ve made hosting this show:

1) Being too structured

I mention the book Yes to the Mess: Surprising Leadership Lessons from Jazz by Frank Barrett that was featured on a recent HBR Ideacast.

“If you’re not making a mistake, it’s a mistake.” -Miles Davis

One of my mentors once said, “Any strength overused, becomes a liability.”

2) Assuming everyone listens the way I do

We have listeners on Zune, iTunes, Stitcher, and BlackBerry – and even more places than those.

3) Forgetting the reason behind the goal

4) Driving the agenda myself

Upcoming shows on mentoring, lessons from changing companies, and stories about great leaders are all listener suggestions

5) Not sharing enough specific stories

I started to turn the corner a bit with episode #48: How to Lead When Someone Is Driving You Nuts

6) Not being engaged with people

Why the list of 100 is gone

What others mistakes have I made? Tell me. What mistakes have you made? Share in the comments section below.

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