How to change your mind without losing credibility

Ralph Waldo Emerson warned against ‘a foolish consistency.’ Good leaders understand how to publicly change course as circumstances evolve.

Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” From his vantage point in the nineteenth century, he was expressing frustration with the typical leader who feels the need to stick with an opinion that has outlived its usefulness. The modern world also seems to punish leaders who change their perspective, branding them flip-floppers.