Permission to change your mind

Over the weekend I was frustrated to read about Sheryl Sandberg's Mother Day post where she retracted her missive to all working women to Lean In. It seems that as a single mother she's now realised that maybe it isn't quite as straight forward as she had originally thought - in fact combining work, kids and life can be bloody difficult. While her comments didn't surprise me, after all this blog started as a quest to find a purpose beyond simply grafting away every day, what disappointed me was the media response to it. I read more than one commentary berating her for ever suggesting women should have contemplated striving for an equality in the first place, but even more disappointing was the criticism directed at her for being wrong and only now realising it!

Regardless of your personal situation and point of view, Sheryl Sandberg raised up the issue of equality and how women should feel empowered and entitled to an equal seat at the tables of power. I read her book with mixed feelings, not least as I was reading it at 5.30am in the gym - multi tasking to fit everything into my daily life! My mixed feelings came from agreement that women should absolutely feel entitled, something I have struggled with in my working career, but also because her book put even more expectation on working women to push harder at work at a time when they are balancing all kinds of competing demands. I was left feeling that it just wasn't as simple as the book made out. Roll on a few years and the sad, untimely passing of her husband, and she has now found that out first hand.

So why did the media coverage make me so mad? It wasn't the fact she had come out to say that she was wrong, it was the fact that she was criticised for doing so. It must be heart breaking to have plucked up enough courage to say "I'm wrong, I'm sorry", only to have people attack your actions and intent. She could so easily have just kept her head down and said nothing - good on her for not doing this - for coming out and acknowledging that with the passing of time and her greater experience, she's learnt something new. Our ability to learn is fundamental to our development. Our courage to say "I got it wrong" is fundamental to our authenticity as leaders. If more leaders and more businesses were confident to do just that, we would be a better society.