The Second Decision // Patty Proverb #7

Always Have the Courage and Humility to Make the Second Decision

When I was in college, I was an RA (Resident Assistant) in the older men’s dormitory. I had made a decision that one of my fellow RA’s thought was incorrect and he asked to meet in order to clarify and, possibly, to change my mind.

I don’t remember the issue at hand, but I will ALWAYS remember one of the stupidest thing I’ve ever said was:

“I know I made a bad decision, but I have to stick with it otherwise they won’t respect me as a leader.”

My partner RA looked at me and said:

“That’s messed up, Jeremy. The guys will respect you not because you stick with a bad decision, but rather if you had the humility to admit that you made a mistake.”

Not too often in life do you admit to something in the moment (it’s too bad, we should), but I remember looking at my friend and said:

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right.”

Because he was right! I had to accept that I was wrong (which I already knew!) and then have the courage and humility to make it right… to make the second decision.

This is part of a series called Patty Proverbs. When I was in college @ Multnomah University in Portland, our professor, Dr. Steve Patty, shared some proverbial leadership wisdom with his students. These are his “proverbs.”