By Adam Turteltaub

One of the hardest things in the world is admitting you are wrong.  Kathryn Schulz has written a book and has an intriguing Ted Talk on the subject.

In business it’s particularly difficult since being wrong is too often seen as an admission of failure.  That’s why a practice instituted by Terry Lawrence, the CEO of Bone Joint is especially unusual.  At management meetings he asks the managers to report on the mistakes they have recently made.

The effects of this unusual approach have been very positive, both for management in general and the compliance program.  Listen to the podcasts as he explains:

* The goal is to learn from mistakes so as to become better leaders

* Expect initial hesitation: people were incredulous, thinking he was kidding.

* As he embedded the practice into weekly and monthly meetings it quickly gained traction

* Expect positive movement to come incrementally, with periodic leaps forward

* The key message to deliver is that you are in a safe zone: what is said in the meeting stays in the meeting

* The practice helped them change from a culture of mistrust to a culture of trust, respect, and high performance.

* How he encouraged staff to step forward and raise compliance issues

* How as a leader you have to model the behavior and be supportive.

If you like to learn more about this practice, feel free to email Terry:  [email protected]