From the Bleachers: The Strength to Say, “I Was Wrong”
By Dr. Jack Welch
This past week, I saw something on Facebook that reminded me of a lesson we sometimes forget: One of the greatest signs of strength is being willing to admit when we are wrong.
A board member in Texas publicly apologized for calling another board member an “idiot” during a public-school board meeting. She did not begin by explaining why she was angry and called the person an idiot. She did not blame the other board member. She did not say, “I was wrong, but you need to understand what he did.” She simply owned it. She said she was wrong, asked her Lord and Savior for forgiveness, apologized to the board member, and committed to controlling her words and actions differently in the future. There is strength in that.
During my years in athletics, I have watched players make mistakes and immediately point toward a teammate. I have seen coaches blame officials after losses. In administrative leadership, I have seen people spend more energy explaining why the other person was wrong, than simply admitting they were wrong. Trying to shift the blame to others usually does nothing more than weaken an apology and make us appear unwilling to accept responsibility.
I think we all have been guilty at one time or another of speaking wrongly to someone. Most of us, if we are truthful, have said something in anger that we later wished we could take back. The question is not whether we will ever make a mistake. The question is what we do after we make one.
Integrity is not about always agreeing with one another. Character is not determined by which side of an issue we stand on. Faith is certainly not demonstrated by never falling short.
Sometimes character is simply having enough humility to say: “I was wrong. Please forgive me.”
This board member made a mistake and took ownership. Admitting we are wrong does not make us smaller. In many ways, it makes us bigger.
Thought for the Week: “Your character is not measured by never being wrong. It is measured by whether you have the courage and humility to admit it when you are.” — Kelly Boggs, Pastor
Dr. Jack Welch serves as President of Fort Scott Community College. With a career spanning professional sports, public education, and rural community development, he brings a servant-leader mindset and a passion for building trust-driven cultures that empower people to thrive in the classroom, on the field, and in life. He is also the author of Foundations of Coaching: The Total Coaching Manual.