When I think of key leadership qualities, decisiveness is always high on the list. The ability to quickly size up a situation and act is essential.<\/p>\n\n
But sometimes we can be too fast. And that\u2019s especially true when it comes to criticism.<\/p>\n
Every day in America between five hundred and a thousand people die<\/a> because of medical errors. Unless carefully administered at the right dose, medicine is just another word for poison.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the same way with criticism.<\/p>\n Identifying what\u2019s wrong with a situation\u2014including the attitude and actions of the people involved\u2014is absolutely necessary in business and the rest of our lives. But if we\u2019re too quick, we risk misjudging and harming those people. I\u2019ve certainly done it. I\u2019ve also been on the receiving end.<\/p>\n When I launched my mastermind group<\/a>, for instance, I caught flak for the price. Some complained it was exclusionary. Others said I was greedy. When I posted an image of the men in the group, some griped about gender and race.<\/p>\n I could see where these people were coming from, but they missed the boat.<\/p>\n As leaders, we always face criticism. We dish it out too. Some of it is helpful, and some of it is not. Like medicine, it all depends on administration and dose. But here\u2019s the problem: If we\u2019re quick to judge, we\u2019re upping the odds that we\u2019ll misdiagnose and seriously hurt someone.<\/p>\n With that in mind, there are at least three reasons we should be slow<\/em> to judge.<\/p>\n How often do we judge before we have all the facts? I see it all the time. Something hits us the wrong way, and we jump to criticize. News, commentary, and social media accelerate this reaction till it\u2019s almost reflexive for some of us.<\/p>\n But do we know all the relevant details? Even more problematic, do we know the motivations behind what\u2019s happened?<\/p>\n Judging on incomplete information is counterproductive\u2014and sometimes worse. Before we make a move, we should make certain we have enough information. If circumstances force us to move without all the details, we should be humble, open to correction, and ready to change our opinion.<\/p>\n We all have hangups, faults, and pet peeves. And because we\u2019re so familiar with our own issues, we tend to notice them everywhere we turn, even\u2014especially\u2014in others.<\/p>\n As C.S. Lewis said about pride<\/a>, \u201cThe more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.\u201d And it\u2019s not just pride. Most failings are like that.<\/p>\n When we don\u2019t have the full story, we often fill in the blanks with our own issues. It\u2019s unconscious, but suddenly we\u2019ve assigned motives and condemned someone when we are really just imagining things.<\/p>\n Reason 3 flows from the first two. If we realize our misdiagnosis, regret comes next.<\/p>\n By jumping the gun, we might have harmed relationships that will now have to be mended. Thankfully, there\u2019s a simple process for making things right when we blow it<\/a>. But we can\u2019t be cavalier. Apologies are like car airbags\u2014good to have but best if never needed.<\/p>\n\t\tAvoiding a Bad Diagnosis<\/h3>\n
1. We Sometimes Don\u2019t Have the Full Story<\/h3>\n
2. We Often Project Our Own Issues<\/h3>\n
3. We Usually Regret It Later<\/h3>\n