[July 27, 2025] The general rule of leadership is to fully own up to any mistake you make and do so promptly. In particular, this is true for senior leaders. Reasons for admitting your mistakes are many and will be listed here. Exemptions, however, for not accepting a mistake are exceedingly rare. One unfortunate exemption to acknowledging one’s mistakes rests with a few politicians.
“In politics… never retreat, never retract… never admit a mistake.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
Most people understand what Napoleon Bonaparte was talking about in this quote. He was advising politicians not to admit their mistakes so that their political opposition could exploit them.
Many believe this is an unfortunate piece of advice that too many political leaders are prone to following. The reason is that people will eventually discover the mistake, and trust between the politician and the public will be lost. The link between not admitting a mistake (or outright denying it) and a lie is razor-thin.
Some reasons for admitting to mistakes and admitting them quickly are:
- It shows others that you are human and not that different from those who follow
- It is a sign of humility and makes you more approachable
- Demonstrates that you can be trusted to tell the truth, upfront, and honest
- Enhances credibility and respect
- Limits the damage that the mistake can cause
- Shows moral courage
Of course, there are more reasons for admitting mistakes. This is to give you a flavor of the fact that the preferred course of action is always to admit mistakes and do so early. My boss always told me to bring bad news to him quickly (admit my mistakes) because bad news does not get better with age. That way, my boss could deal with the problem in its early stages and minimize any damage.
Those who fail to admit mistakes, including politicians, set themselves up for greater failure later and are establishing a culture where lying, deceit, dishonesty, double-dealing, and pretense are acceptable forms of behavior.
Thumbnail Credit: gettyimages
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Please read my books:
Only the most immature folks can’t admit an error and learn from it.
My ex-wife could never follow this advice because she could never admit making a mistake.
You’re my kinda guy, Joey. I’m sure there are plenty of women who not only cannot admit making a mistake but also blame their husbands for any and everything that goes wrong. They are just too weak and unappreciative.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀
The fact that by admitting a mistake makes you seem human, and that is crucial for the best leaders, this is a core base of “humility,” a concept that Gen. Satterfield has discussed at length. As a military officer for more than a decade, I could see too many other officers fail because they refused to admit mistakes and yet, at the same time, demand respect from their subordinates. This was a recipe for failure. I saw it most in officers who were originally from cities (an observation that Gen. Satterfield as made before). Why that’s the case is unknown but it is clearly a pattern.
I know Gen. Satterfield would not care if I repeated his list, so here it is again so that everyone reading these comments will get it reinforced:
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Some reasons for admitting to mistakes and admitting them quickly are:
It shows others that you are human and not that different from those who follow
It is a sign of humility and makes you more approachable
Demonstrates that you can be trusted to tell the truth, upfront, and honest
Enhances credibility and respect
Limits the damage that the mistake can cause
Shows moral courage
Some of the dumbest people i know can never admit to doing anything wrong. 😑
😂😂😂😂😂 LOL. You made my day, Paulette.
Ain’t it so ………….. 🕷🕷🕷🕷
Gen. Satterfield has done it again by showing us how to be a good leader – or, should I say a great and useful leader – and he spelt this out in his book on rules, “55 rules for a good life,” a book we should all be reading today. If you aren’t, then you are voluntarily missing out on some ancient wisdoms.
https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
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Another ex-wifey joke in the making here.