Finding The Advantage in Being Wrong

When was the last time your beliefs or work was challenged? What did you do?

For most of us, our first inclination is to double down on our beliefs or attack the challenger in some way. It is embarrassing to be accused of inaccuracy, and we, therefore, try to protect ourselves by lashing out or cushioning our bruised egos by seeking out data that corroborates our ideas - a phenomenon called confirmation bias.

It is no wonder we act like cornered animals when accused of making a mistake; Our culture often associates precision with morality - inaccuracy is seen as an indication of incompetence or subterfuge, and we are nasty when we think someone is wrong. You need only turn to the comments section of any social media sites for evidence.

However, our fear of being wrong can result in behavior that burns bridges, stunt our growth, and ultimately close the door to greatness.

Information will always move faster than we can consume it, which means that nearly all of us are unknowingly operating under assumptions and statistics that may have been disproven or debunked, even if the original information was backed by facts.

In order to progress in this new reality, we need to flip the script and start to see our mistakes as stepping stones. We need to be open to the idea that we COULD be wrong, and be cautious about assigning absolute truth to the last study/book/podcast/meme we encountered. You don't need to accept every criticism that comes your way, but becoming comfortable with the discomfort of uncertainty will jumpstart your path to growth.

This week, think about how you react to mistakes in others and in yourself. What would help you be more open to learning from conflicting evidence? What can you do to inspire your teams to break more eggs?