When Everything Goes Wrong, What Kind of Leader Will You Be?

Have you ever faced a situation at work that really tested your leadership?

I’m sure you have had to deal with difficult employees, team conflicts, missed deadlines, poor performance and organizational change. These are all common leadership experiences.

All of these challenges can be stressful.

But recently, I listened to a podcast that put leadership into a whole new perspective for me. Most of us are not dealing with life-or-death situations. But in this story, life and death were at the centre of the crisis and the leadership response was extraordinary.

The podcast is one of my favourites. It is Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History and this conversation was on season 15, episode 5. Gladwell interviewed General David Goldfein, former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force and Dr. Heather Wilson, former Secretary of the Air Force.

They shared the story of the worst day of their professional careers.

I was blown away not just by the tragedy they faced but by the courage, humility and extraordinary leadership they demonstrated in the aftermath.

I want to share their story because I think every leader can learn something from it.

A tragedy no leader ever wants to face

In November 2017, a gunman walked into a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas and murdered 26 innocent people.

It was a horrific tragedy.

What made it even more devastating was the discovery that the gunman had previously served in the U.S. Air Force and had been convicted by a military court of domestic violence.

The Air Force had failed to report his conviction to the federal database used for firearm background checks. That failure meant information that should have prevented him from legally purchasing a gun was missing.

Goldfein and Wilson were leading the Air Force when this came to light.

Imagine being in their shoes.

People had lost their lives and families were devastated. The organization they were responsible for had made a terrible mistake!

What would you do in this situation?

You could become defensive. You could point fingers. You could focus on protecting your organization’s reputation.

But that’s not what these two leaders did.

They took responsibility. They acknowledged their organization’s failure and they focused on both the grieving families and the critical processes that needed to change.

Their response was an extraordinary example of what it means to lead with integrity.

As I listened to the podcast, three leadership lessons really stood out for me.

1. Great leaders take responsibility, even when the mistake isn’t theirs.

Neither Goldfein nor Wilson had personally failed to submit the gunman’s records.

But they were the leaders of the organization.

They understood something that I wish more leaders understood:

You don’t have to be the person who made the mistake to take responsibility for fixing it.

Think about that for a moment.

How often do we see leaders become defensive when something goes wrong?

They explain why it wasn’t their fault. They blame another department. They point to a process that failed.

But accountability isn’t about blame. It’s about ownership.

When something goes wrong on your team, do you spend your energy figuring out who is at fault? Or do you focus on what needs to happen next?

That’s a choice every leader gets to make.

2. Leadership is about serving others, not protecting yourself.

Goldfein and Wilson have written a book called Get Back Up: Lessons in Servant Leadership.

Their story is a powerful reminder of what servant leadership actually looks like.

It’s not about being nice. It’s not about making everyone happy.

It’s about understanding that your role as a leader is to serve the people who depend on you.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Goldfein travelled to Sutherland Springs to attend some of the funerals. His focus wasn’t on managing a public relations crisis. It was on acknowledging the suffering and being present and being there to support the people whose lives had been shattered.

I found that incredibly moving.

Now, think about your own leadership.

When your team is struggling, where does your attention go?

Are you worried about how the situation reflects on you? Or are you thinking about what your people need from you?

Sometimes leadership means putting aside your own discomfort and having a difficult conversation.

Sometimes it means listening when you don’t have the answers.

Other times it means showing up, even when you know you can’t make things better.

3. When you make a mistake, what matters is what you do next.

I love the title of their book: Get Back Up.

Because here’s the reality.

We are all going to make mistakes.

We’re going to make poor decisions. We’re going to miss something important. We’re going to say something we regret.

That’s part of being human.

The question isn’t whether you’ll make a mistake.

The question is, what will you do after you make it?

Will you acknowledge it? Will you learn from it? Will you make the changes necessary to prevent it from happening again?

Or will you try to move on as quickly as possible and hope everyone forgets?

For Goldfein and Wilson, acknowledging the Air Force’s failure was only the beginning. They also had to confront the systems and processes that had allowed this tragedy to happen.

That’s an important distinction.

Saying you’re sorry matters. But changing your behaviour and fixing what’s broken matters even more.

A final thought

I can’t stop thinking about this story.

Most of us will never face a leadership challenge of this magnitude.

But I believe the principles that guided these two remarkable leaders apply to every one of us.

Take responsibility.

Put people first.

When you fall down, get back up and do better.

Leadership isn’t about being perfect. It’s about having the courage and humility to do the right thing, especially when it’s hard.

If you have 30 minutes, I highly recommend listening to Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History episode, “A Tragedy in Texas,” featuring General David Goldfein and Dr. Heather Wilson. Their book, Get Back Up: Lessons in Servant Leadership, is also worth exploring.

Thank you for sharing!

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