Leadership Discussion Forum

A successful business woman was once asked the question, “Have you made any mistakes in your career and if so, what would you have done differently?”  Her response was, “Absolutely! I have made many mistakes during my career; however, I wouldn’t change a thing because those mistakes molded me into the leader that I am today: the leader of a company that generates $14 million dollars in sales each year with only 35 full-time employees.” Leadership does not mean making the right choices 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In fact, one of the indispensable qualities John Maxwell identifies is discernment; it is the ability to recognize both the why and how of our successes and failures.    1. In this week’s discussion forum, research online to identify three significant mistakes in history made by leaders. For example, the day of April 14,1912, the crew of the Titanic ship disregarded repeated warnings of potential icebergs in their path. Even though he was aware of the impending danger, Captain Edward Smith, attended a private dinner party that evening and turned in for the night afterwards leaving his second officer in command. Although reports of this tragedy indicate that there were a multitude of reasons that the Titanic sank, the fact remains that  1,503 passengers and crew members died that night under Captain Smith’s leadership. 2.  For each of your choices, explain what qualities you think the leader lacked that allowed him or her to make the wrong decision(s) and how the outcome could have been different.