1. Describe a time when something you did or said had a profound negative impact on a person, group, or situation. Everybody makes mistakes; today’s media-saturated culture makes everyone’s mistakes everyone else’s news.88 This is particularly true of leaders, who are less able

(perhaps simply unable) to hide from the media microscope than in times past. We want our leaders to have an unshakable integrity, so when their mistakes turn into front-page news, it provides a unique look at the mettle of those who lead our governments, institutions, and businesses. One of the functions of leadership is to assume responsibility for company actions, even when those actions are dubious at best or downright shameful at worst. But how can leaders—who are supposed to always take the high road—work through mistakes that they or their organizations have made?