Dear Sir, You said "55% hid behind the guise that a leader always has to stand behind their decisions." There were only three options, and one yes option, which I chose because I don't think any of my firing decisions were wrong. I don't consider that to be "hiding" at all. I agree that firing should be taken very seriously. But to assume everyone who chose yes did something wrong and that they are hiding it is a wrong interpretation on your part.

"...20% simply didn’t sweat it, and 55% hid behind the guise that a leader always has to stand behind their decisions."

This describes perfectly what happened at Penn State in 2011 when its Board of Trustees fired Coach Joe Paterno, ostensibly for failing to "do more" about allegations of on-campus sexual abuse by retired coach Jerry Sandusky. The University's alumni knew at the time that Paterno was not supposed to "do more" after he reported this to his superior as directed by the University's policies. 

The Board doubled down on its decisions ("a leader always has to stand behind their decisions") by publishing in March 2012 that the Board had decided unanimously to fire Paterno for "failure of leadership," a phrase it used twice in the news release, even though University policy and, as I recall, Pennsylvania law made it clear he was not supposed to exercise "leadership." Nothing could be done about the appointed Trustees but the alumni-elected ones bleated about how badly they were being treated when the alumni voted them out of office, and we made it clear it was for cause rather than just liking the opposing candidates better. All nine were removed during the course of the next three years as was ex officio Trustee Governor Tom Corbett. When 382,000 Penn State alumni are eligible to vote in Pennsylvania, it's a bad idea to alienate them.

In 2014, after a lawsuit was filed regarding the NCAA's sanctions on Penn State, two of the Trustees involved had to make sworn depositions in which they said Paterno was fired for public relations reasons, and not for anything he had or had not done (a phrase used twice by one of the individuals involved). This proved that the entire Board, less one honorable exception who distanced himself from it, lied to and on behalf of Penn State in March 2012 when it said Paterno had been fired for failure of leadership. I pointed out that these Board members, including the CEOs of major corporations, fell short of the standards the US Military Academy requires of 18 year old cadets. This is what "20% simply didn’t sweat it, and 55% hid behind the guise that a leader always has to stand behind their decisions" get somebody who makes a bad call and then tries to cover it up.

When another alumnus challenged the Board's decisions in a public meeting, one of the Business & Industry Trustees replied "there are no do-overs" (i.e. "a leader always has to stand behind their decisions") and then added a racial slur, "people that look like you" to the alumnus in question which drew an immediate outburst from the audience. This got back to the Trustee's employer, whom he represented on the Board, and he had to issue a public apology.  

On the other hand, it's a well-known principle that, when a gentleman or lady does something wrong, but then apologizes and sets matters right, a gentleman or lady to whom the corrective actions are directed then conducts himself or herself as if the orginal offense had never happened. This is something leaders who make mistakes like this need to remember. If they accept responsibility and make things right they will, far from looking bad, actually gain respect and trust from other stakeholders. Suppose for example you work for somebody, and know he or she fired somebody for no reason or a bad reason. You will not trust or respect that leader, nor should you. You might even conclude it could happen to you, find another job, and just not show up for work one day while possibly letting the leader (and his/her superiors) know why. ("If, as a leader, you fail to acknowledge the mistake, you also run the risk of losing members of your team and destroying morale.") If on the other hand he or she admits the mistake and takes corrective action, you will trust and respect that leader because, even though he or she made a mistake, he or she made it right upon realizing it.