A successful business requires at least one leader. Leadership comes with commitment, consistency and the ability to persuade others to follow. A leader makes decisions and doesn’t give up when the going gets tough. Employees expect their leaders to be resilient and resolved.

However, leaders who refuse to admit when they are wrong, who delude themselves with self-justification and expect employees follow in blind faith, appear only arrogant and self-absorbed. These leaders soon find no one following, having lost all credibility with their previous followers by their refusal to admit when they are wrong.

Leaders can be so blinded by their need to be right that they see any evidence in a biased fashion, thereby confirming a wrong decision as being right. This is called cognitive dissonance and is something hard wired within us. In this case, followers see the wrong decision before their delusional leader. Depending on the time between followers recognizing the wrong decision and the leader finally admitting, the leader may lose a lot of loyalty and confidence of his followers.

While we can’t change the phenomena of cognitive dissonance – the wish to be right and therefore viewing evidence in a biased manner – we can recognize this malady in decision making and thereby more carefully review evidence. Leaders also need to listen to and encourage contrary opinions, evaluating the message rather than seeing it as an attack or lack of loyalty.

Resolve and commitment sometimes blind leaders. They resist a change in direction and guard against alternative ideas and evaluations. Good leaders admit when they are wrong, change direction and take responsibility. They earn far more loyalty and respect by simple admissions of being wrong without excuses or cover-up.

Authors Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson explain cognitive dissonance in their book Mistakes Were Made but Not by Me, discussing how corporate America rewards positive results; mistakes demonstrate failure of results. This conditions leaders to avoid admitting mistakes and continue a failed course. Great leaders avoid this fallacy, knowing that trial and error makes better decision makers and accepting candid feedback often brings mistakes to the forefront before the business faces disastrous consequences.