Mistakes are not a cause for dismay. Instead, mistakes should be valued and celebrated for the knowledge they provide. When we understand that mistakes don’t define us, we can embrace the chances they offer us to develop more skills and knowledge. In doing so, we can continue to mature and learn as we grow.

We all make mistakes, even the best and most competent leaders and thinkers. It happens, even when we do everything we can to prevent them. But the mistakes are not so serious as what happens next. Those who are genuinely great leaders have mastered the art of dealing with errors, and we could each learn a lot from their examples. Here are some of the most important things that great leaders do and what you can learn from how they handle mistakes.

As human beings, we are inherently flawed by our very nature. We are destined to make some choices along the way that end up being the wrong ones; these include significant hiccups and the minuscule parts of day-to-day life. Some of us tend to dwell on these mistakes after they occur, to the point that they interfere with our progress and growth moving forward. Fortunately, another part of our nature is the ability to use mistakes and wrong choices to our benefit when similar situations present themselves in the future.