I just read an article titled “The mistakes I wish I’d avoided in my first year as a manager.” The author talks about not planning for meetings, avoiding (or forgetting) direct feedback, working in a leadership silo and more. (I made some of these too)

These are all great lessons, as they’re mistakes many of us make at some point in our career.

It is natural to wish you hadn’t made some mistakes along the way. However, the reason you are the leader and person you are is partly because of the mistakes you made. Mistakes are an essential part of your growth.

Just don’t deny your mistakes

My mistakes are a significant and vital part of why I am the leader I am today. To deny my mistakes means to deny a big part of my leadership.

Early on in my blogging experiences, I spent a lot of time churning because I did not want to talk about my mistakes. I was unwilling to be vulnerable and talk about them.

My writing changed when I started talking about my mistakes. For me, the writing became easier as I did not spend as much time toiling over not admitting to my mistakes. This shift lightened my load and made life easier.

Much like the author of the article I read, it’s OK to wish you didn’t make mistakes. However, don’t deny their existence. Denial is a costly mindset.

When you deny the existence of your mistakes, you deny yourself and others the opportunity to grow and learn from them.

You’ve got this.