Hindsight is 20/20 or so the experts have been telling us for years.

There is only one place you can change the future and that is in the present. Yes, history can be a relevant teacher and the future can only look either dim or bright but at the end of a day or a year or your career all you have is memories.

Your memories are created in the present. Your skills are used in the present and your mistakes and successes are created in the present. So what does looking in the mirror have to do with your future success? Everything.

However, if you look in the mirror for the symptoms of your failures or the contributors of your success be sure that that you are aware of your personal blind-spots and prejudices that may be coloring your opinions, views or attitudes.

What should you be looking for in that mirror in your office? How about;

- Are you in touch with reality?

- Is your ego in any way shading your views or opinions?

- Have you created a safe and honest culture in your organization or department?

- Can you be wrong?

- Does your management style need a face-lift?

- Are you investing enough time and resources in your own career and personal

growth?

- Can you handle disagreement from your employees?

- Are you an effective communicator?

These are just some of the basic ones. There are numerous other questions, issues and circumstances that if viewed with self-honesty and integrity can lead you to a better understanding of yourself and the consequences of your management behavior.

Too many managers, executives and business owners refuse to accept the responsibility for what is wrong in their organizations and therefore look for advocates or people who will verbally, to their face, agree with them. It is quite common however that many of these same employees who appear to endorse, support and accept your decisions, views or opinions in reality are just paying you lip service and you may never know it until it is too late.

So, what can you do to ensure that you are always dealing in top-down and bottom-up truth? I can’t really adequately answer this question in a short article but let me conclude with a fundamental leadership and management concept. See if you agree with it, it makes your blood boil or you are not really sure whether you accept it or not.

When you have a problem, issue, failure or negative set of circumstances in your organization look up the ladder for the cause and down the ladder for the solution. If you are the top of the ladder and there’s no one above you then look in the mirror for the cause.