According to a 2015 Harvard Business Review study, participants who took responsibility for their mistakes were likely to succeed on future decisions because they “learned from their failure and made better decisions.” Embrace mistakes. They're valuable learning opportunities.

Leadership Skill Guide | Definition and Examples | Matter
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Reflect on how to recognize the tough times

Learning how to recognize the tough times at work is fundamental in developing and honing your leadership skills. Start by simply taking a moment to reflect.

How do you deal with the ups and downs at work?

Exercises to help you recognize the tough times

Now, it's time to put your reflection into action. Finding opportunities to implement your leadership skills can allow you to recognize the tough times at work.

  • Share your trials and tribulations with a colleague. Confiding in your peer can help you cope with your emotions and likely prompt them to share their own experiences.
  • Set up a retrospective after a project failure. Identify what that went well, didn’t go well, and areas of improvement. A postmortem may lead to new learnings for future projects.
  • Ask a colleague to recollect a successful team project. List out 3 obstacles you all face and share how you all pushed through those challenges.

Additional resources to recognize the tough times

Secrets Of The Most Resilient People
Being able to bounce back from devastation may seem like a superpower, but there are several things you can do to prepare in advance.
Gwen MoranFast Company
Council Post: Leadership: Learning To Ride The Roller Coaster
Leadership comes with plenty of highs and lows, but lessons for a smoother ride include collaborating with your stakeholders, listening to what your team members need and setting boundaries to avoid burnout.
Div ManickamForbes
The Reinvention Roller Coaster: Risking the Present for a Powerful Future
Kodak, IBM, American Express, and General Motors have recently sacked their CEOs. All were capable executives with impressive track records. All had promised turnarounds, and all had spearheaded downsizing, delayering, and reengineering programs in vigorous efforts to deliver those promises. Indeed,…
Tracy Goss,Harvard Business Review

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