Monday Madness

Monday Madness: The Discipline of Self-Correction

“We were deliberately designed to learn by trial and error.” — Buckminster Fuller

As executive leaders, founders, and influencers navigating politically charged climates and the operational strain of winter months, the margin for error can feel razor thin...

Yet neuroscience, behavioral science, and performance psychology tell a different story: error is not the opposite of excellence — it is the pathway to it.

Fuller challenged a cultural narrative many of us inherited: that mistakes equal incompetence.

In coaching engagements across industries, I often see high-capacity leaders constrained not by lack of skill — but by fear of missteps.

Pause here.

Take three intentional breaths.

Inhale deeply...

Exhale slowly...

Repeat.

Inhale deeply...

Exhale slowly...

One more time...

Inhale deeply...

Exhale slowly...

Presence precedes perspective.

Now consider this reframing shared by Gay Hendricks in A Year of Living Consciously:

An airplane’s autopilot reaches its destination by being off course most of the time. It detects variance, recalibrates, and corrects — thousands of times — without drama or shame. High-performing leaders do the same. Not perfectly. But persistently. ⸻

From a PCC Lens: Mistakes as Data, Not Drama

In professional coaching, we work with:

• Growth mindset

• Cognitive reframing

• Adaptive leadership

• Emotional regulation

• Intentional course correction

Research underscores this approach:

• Studies highlighted in “The Importance of Failure and Making Mistakes” (Eve Silveston-Maxey, Medium) emphasize how experimentation accelerates mastery.

• “The Power of Learning From Your Mistakes” reinforces that reflective practice strengthens resilience.

• Yale School of Management’s How to Turn Your Mistakes into an Advantage notes that leaders who normalize intelligent failure foster innovation cultures. The throughline? Psychological safety fuels performance. ⸻

Reflective Questions for Leaders & Teams As you move through this week:

Consider inviting dialogue around:

• Where might fear of being wrong be limiting strategic boldness?

• How does your team currently respond to mistakes — with curiosity or criticism?

• What systems support self-correction without blame?

• How do you model resilience when you misstep publicly?

• What would change if errors were treated as iterative intelligence?

For team conversations:

• What recent “mistake” revealed valuable insight?

• What assumptions need recalibration?

• Where are we off course — and what micro-adjustment moves us closer to alignment?

Today’s Leadership Challenge

1. Name one recent mistake without defensiveness.

2. Extract the lesson.

3. Identify the adjustment.

4. Re-engage with intention.

*Learn. Adjust. Repeat.

In volatile environments — political tension, economic shifts, seasonal fatigue

— agility outperforms rigidity every time.

“We shall never have a world without errors, but the world that we do have can be a beautiful place if we just had the willingness to correct our errors.” — Abhijit Naskar

So I ask you:

What are you willing to recalibrate this week?

What courageous conversation needs to happen?

What would it look like to lead with disciplined self-correction instead of self-criticism?

Be intentional... Create space for learning... Model the mindset you want mirrored...

Leadership isn’t about never being wrong — it’s about being committed enough to course-correct.

You’ve got this!

Coach Tavia, PCC, MSEd, MAT

References:

Hendricks, G. (1998). A Year of Living Consciously: 365 Daily Inspirations for Creating a Life of Passion and Purpose. Harper One.

Silveston-Maxey, E. (n.d.). The Importance of Failure and Making Mistakes. Medium.

The Power of Learning From Your Mistakes.

Yale School of Management. (n.d.). How to Turn Your Mistakes into an Advantage.

#MondayMadness #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment #AdaptiveLeadership #PsychologicalSafety #GrowthMindset #ResilientLeadership #CourageousLeadership #EmotionalIntelligence #OrganizationalCulture #StrategicLeadership #Accountability #ContinuousImprovement #InfluenceWithIntegrity #CoachPerspective

Tavia Robinson   

EMPOWER COACHING & CONSULTING, LLC

empowercoaching2018@gmail.com         

732.743.5012

You got this!