What a wonderful article! Using candor to not only highlight your mistakes, but also share what you have learned, is a very powerful way to drive your points home. The coaching training that I received greatly helped me to shift from a negative critic to a provocative empathizer. The processes you describe are very valuable, and I teach them to my clients. The core to making the shift from critic to collaborator is to shift from a stress mindset, where the focus is on what’s wrong, to a growth mindset, where the focus is on what’s possible. Thank you for sharing your journey.