HOW TO HANDLE MISTAKES AT WORK

 “Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”

- Mark Twain

We all make mistakes.  It is a part of life.  

Handling them in a positive way will have you learn instead of losing even more.

Making a mistake at work in front of those over you and around you certainly is testing. 

 But you can make an A and not an F on this test if you keep certain things in mind 


1.)  REMEMBER: EVERYONE IS WATCHING HOW YOU RESPOND TO THIS

Here is an opportunity to show them what you are made of.  

 Your supervisors will be watching 

(not to see if you make another mistake) 

but how well you handle this one.

Real leaders, good employees earn their stripes during tough times.

Handle this situation maturely, and you may grow

 -- if not in the eyes of your supervisors -- 

at least in your own eyes.


2.) FORGIVE YOURSELF

Not let yourself off the hook, mind you, but be aware that you are human.

Humans makes mistakes.  

Just strive not to be human at work!

Stop fixing the blame and start fixing whatever scenario led to this mistake.


3.) TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT

Do not go on and on. 

 Be brief; be brave, 

and be specific on what things you will do to insure this particular mistake will not happen again.

Even if your supervisor does not respect you for this, you will start feeling better about yourself.


4.) NO THROWING ANYONE UNDER THE BUS EITHER

Even when you are solely to blame for the mistake, it is tempting to say: 

"Yeah, but so-and-so does this-or-that."

Whenever people throw mud, some of it sticks to their fingers as well.  

Keep your fingers and your conscience clean.


5.) FIX IT YOURSELF

Deal with the consequences of your mistake as much as you can yourself.  

Sometimes your mistake dumps more work on your co-workers and supervisor 

and you cannot fix as much as you would wish.

Be verbally and truly grieved at the added workload you tossed their way.

Tuck the memory of this added workload you saddled them with

 as a goad to prevent you from making similar mistakes.


6.) MODEL THE WAY YOU'D LIKE OTHERS TO RESPOND

Once you own the problem, done all you can to fix it, 

and learned a bitter lesson on how to work smarter --

Move on.

If you do that in a mature fashion, the odds are that others will do so, too.

Project a confident approach to each new day.  

That approach can be infectious.

Let it go and move on wiser.

Others will be more than happy to turn from you and deal with their own problems.

What Mistakes Have You Made At Work?

What Did You Learn From Them?

I was going to talk about mistakes in our personal lives, but this post has grown long enough!