Why Leaders Who Always Need to Be "Right" Are Dead Wrong (And Killing Their Teams)

Let's get one thing straight: there's no such thing as universally "right."

I know, I know. That statement probably made some of you bristle. But here's the reality every leader needs to face – what you call "right" is actually just your perspective filtered through your values, experiences, and priorities.

When your teammate suggests a different approach, they're not being difficult. They're being right, too, from their viewpoint. The moment you forget this fundamental truth, you start down a dangerous path that ends with disengaged teams and missed opportunities.

The Myth of Universal Truth in Leadership

Think about it this way: if you ask five marketing experts how to launch a product, you'll get five different strategies. Are four of them wrong? Not really. Each approach reflects different priorities – one values speed, another emphasizes research, and a third focuses on budget efficiency. They're all "right" within their framework.

Yet too many leaders operate as if their perspective is the only valid one. They've climbed the ladder, accumulated experience, and somehow convinced themselves that this makes their viewpoint universally correct. It doesn't. It just makes it informed by their specific journey.

The Hidden Cost of "Always Right" Leadership

When leaders insist their way is the only right way, several things happen – and none of them are good:

Team Innovation Dies: Why would anyone suggest new ideas when they know the boss will shoot them down? Your "always right" approach creates a culture where creativity goes to die.

Decision Quality Plummets: Here's an uncomfortable truth – your perspective, no matter how experienced, has blind spots. When you shut out other viewpoints, you're making decisions with incomplete information.

Top Talent Walks Away: The best people don't stick around to be consistently told they're wrong. They find leaders who value their input and create an environment where their ideas can flourish.

Trust Evaporates: Nothing erodes confidence in leadership faster than feeling unheard. When team members believe their input doesn't matter, they stop caring about outcomes.

The Art of Understanding "Right" From Every Angle

Here's where most leaders mess up: they think listening means waiting for their turn to explain why the other person is wrong. Real listening – the kind that transforms teams – is completely different.

Before you can address any suggestion or pushback, you need to understand why it makes perfect sense to the person proposing it. Not just what they're suggesting, but why they believe it's right.

This means digging into their reasoning, their concerns, their priorities. What problem are they trying to solve? What outcome are they hoping to achieve? What information are they working with that you might not have?

The Golden Rule for Leaders: You can't properly address an idea until you can explain why it's right from the other person's perspective. If you can't articulate their reasoning in a way that makes them nod and say "exactly," then you don't understand it well enough to dismiss it.

When Smart Leaders Choose to Be "Wrong"

Sometimes the smartest thing a leader can do is go with a solution they don't think is optimal. Sounds crazy? It's not.

When the stakes are low and the learning is high: Let your team try their approach when failure won't kill the project. The lessons learned often outweigh the efficiency lost.

When buy-in matters more than perfection: A good solution that everyone believes in often outperforms a perfect solution that half the team resents implementing.

When you're developing future leaders: How else will your high-potential team members learn to make big decisions if you never let them try?

When the cost of being wrong is small: Sometimes it's worth being "wrong" to show your team that their input matters and that you trust their judgment.

The Leadership Paradox: Being Right About Being Wrong

The most successful leaders understand this paradox: the more willing you are to be "wrong," the more often you end up being right. Not because your judgment improves, but because you create an environment where the best ideas rise to the surface, regardless of where they come from.

Your job isn't to have all the right answers. Your job is to create conditions where the right answers emerge from your team's collective wisdom.

Making the Shift: From Know-It-All to Learn-It-All

Start with this simple practice: the next time someone proposes an idea you disagree with, don't respond immediately. Instead, ask questions designed to understand their perspective:

• "Help me understand the problem you're trying to solve here."

• "What would success look like from your perspective?"

• "What information or experience is shaping your thinking on this?"

Keep asking until you can genuinely see why their approach makes sense to them. Only then can you have a productive conversation about the best path forward.

Remember, being a leader doesn't mean being right all the time. It means being right about what matters most: creating an environment where great ideas thrive, regardless of their source.

Because here's the ultimate truth about leadership:

The teams that consistently outperform aren't led by people who are always right. They're led by people who are always learning.