Written by 
We have been blessed with the opportunity to serve hundreds of CEOs since we started our leadership advisory business.
Our clients lead Fortune 1000 enterprises, mid-market companies and smaller, growth businesses.
We continue to grow with them and learn from them. So, in this new series, we will share the best leadership advice that one of our CEO clients has received.
Today we will feature Carter Sterling, CEO, Sterling Solutions.
The best leadership advice I ever received was from the first secretary I ever hired. Through her tears and sobbing, Pam Larney shared with me that mistakes are allowed to happen. That good people sometimes make good mistakes.
You see, my three brothers and I were raised by a tough German father who was raised by a tougher German father. It was an unwritten rule that mistakes were shameful and were likely the result of laziness or ineptitude.
Pam made plenty of mistakes, but she also did not have the luxury of growing up in the business. Nor did she have the luxury of written policies and procedures.
She had the courage to stand up for herself and teach me that when you take time to share your mistakes, everyone can learn from them. From that day forward, mistakes were no longer something to fear. Instead, they were discussed and rarely repeated.