When you’ve made a mistake at work, what you do next is very important. No matter how good you are, there are going to be times when you do something wrong. Often, this is due to an inflated workload or too many priorities.
Whatever the reason, you’ve made a mistake and have an opportunity to let it influence your career in a positive or a negative way. Here’s a process that can help you with the damage control:
Remove Your Ego
Maybe you’re like me and hate mistakes. You hold yourself to a high standard and you want to get things right. That’s great but at some point, you’ll slip and something will go wrong.
Don’t become defensive or reach for excuses. There’s a truth that you need to accept: Something went wrong and you’re behind it, even when it involves a team you supervise.
As President Truman’s desk sign said, “The Buck Stops Here.”
By removing the emotion from the moment, you’ll be able to look at the problem in a constructive way. You’ll also demonstrate accountability.
Analyze the Mistake
Retrace your steps and figure out what went wrong and when it went wrong. Were you multitasking and had your attention divided? Maybe you just made a silly mistake. They happen.
A mistake that can’t be traced to a root cause is one that will likely happen again. You don’t want that.
It’s very tempting to try to brush off the mistake and say, “Well that will never happen again,” without knowing what happened.
Suggest a Solution
This is a step most people skip. It’s probably because you have to admit that you did something wrong. But if you can park your ego and put your best effort toward a solution, you’ll benefit greatly.
There’s a bigger picture to consider. The mistake you made may have been inevitable and others may be doing the same thing.
Changing your behavior is a good step but helping improve everyone’s outcome with a challenging situation is much better. It showcases leadership because you’re fixing a problem and not just complaining about the outcome.
The pain of the problem will fade with the sense of control you’ll get from the solution. By taking action, you may also inspire others to fix their own mistakes, rather than pretend they never happened.
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