You can and should change your mind as a leader
"Change the problem by changing your mind" Ken MacLeod
Doubt in one's decisions is a natural thing in leadership. So too should be growth and adaptation to ever-changing environments. What worked yesterday may be irrelevant today. Leaders of character take note of changing conditions and personal growth and know when and how to change their minds. They also have the humility to admit they were wrong and change course. Subordinates mostly align with their boss, supporting his or her decisions and beliefs but when things are going wrong, this obedience can be destructive.
Some leaders fear changing their mind as they believe it will make them look weak and incompetent. Indeed, a leader who changes his or her mind too frequently is ineffective. That leader may not be thinking through things enough, surrounding themselves with the right people or asking for help. Changing your mind as a leader should be a deliberate decision. Here is an example.
When I entered Afghanistan as the commander of a 780 man task force in 2009, I knew I had access to funds under the Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP) to support infrastructure needs in my area. We could fund the drilling of a well, construction of a building, road improvements, and a variety of other infrastructure needs. "You couldn't possibly spend the amount of CERP dollars available," said a leader managing in the program. I took that to heart believing I could turn the tide on the insurgency by putting people to work and improving lives. I pushed my leaders constantly to develop projects in their area and got my staff ready to process CERP requests. What I failed to realize is that we could not keep pace with quality assurance and control and, that much of the funding allocated to these projects would be filtered off to corrupt Afghan leaders and even the enemy. My awakening was that CERP was causing more problems than it was solving. Our efforts needed to be focused on simple grievances in Afghan villages helping the tribes solve their own problems (assisted by us, the Afghan security forces or the local government). A tightly managed CERP project would support that effort only if it was truly needed. I had to change my mind and let everyone know. I did my analysis assisted by my staff, presented my awakening to my leaders, walked them through my analysis, shared the feedback they had given me, and announced my change of position.
Journalist Valentina Griesheimer in an article titled, Why It’s Actually A Good Thing To Keep Changing Your Mind, stated, "...changing your mind says more good things about your personality than it does bad. It shows you have a sense of awareness and curiosity, and that you can admit and reflect when decisions have been flawed or mistakes have been made... Admitting that you may have been wrong shows a strength of character... Making a forward decision can save you months of pondering yes or no. Even if you’re going back and forth, you’re making more progress than living at a standstill."
A leader's job is to know better; to know when it is time to change their mind. Be deliberate, not hasty about this and communicate openly with your team. Cast aside your ego and let your guard down. Your people will respect that. You can and should change your mind from time to time.
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