Surviving a Workplace Mistake
“Surviving” may be too big of a word, but for some, screwing up feels like an end of the world catastrophe that must be survived. Sent an email to the wrong person? Came to a meeting underprepared? Completely botched a presentation? It’s natural that when things like these happen, you start feeling like your credibility or career is on the line. But rest assured, more often than not, the consequence of a workplace mistake is a lot less severe than you think.
Here’s how to bounce back and recover from “ahh crap” moments at work:
Accept that you’ve made a mistake
It’s done. It happened. You’re only human and you’re not the first person on Earth, or at your workplace for that matter, to make a mistake. You can’t turn back the hands of time and undo what you did (or didn’t do). Unless it’s an email and you’re using Gmail, then you can just hit “undo send” if you realize your error soon enough. Otherwise, you have no choice but to accept what happened. Don’t marinate in the dread for too long. Instead of panicking and stressing, take a deep breath. If it’s possible to take a break, do so. When you’re calm and have accepted the situation at hand, you will be far more in control of the way that you respond.
Look at the big picture
It’s so easy to jump into crazy conclusions and worse case scenarios when you feel like you’ve messed up. Once you’ve calmed down, ask yourself; “Would any of this matter next week? Next month? Next year?” Perhaps it’s a kind of blunder that only has a momentary effect. Check yourself and make sure that you’re reacting proportionately to the problem. Next, ask yourself, “Can this be fixed?” If the answer is “yes,” recognize and take comfort in the fact that this will all come to pass. If the answer is “no,” and you see that there are serious repercussions to your error, then and only then, does it make sense for you to consider the worst-case scenario. In which case, you have to prepare yourself so that you can respond calmly and appropriately. Stay positive. If you think that you can get fired over this, remember — there are many other jobs out there. You have skills and this rather unfortunate experience just adds to that as you take away some hard-learned lessons. Believe that there are opportunities waiting for you.
Assess and apologize
I’m putting these two together as there are accidents that require a bit more urgency than others. If the impact of your mistake is immediately palpable, take responsibility and apologize. When you apologize, do so sincerely, but don’t over-do it. Sincerity does not mean saying “sorry” over and over again. I once had a boss who laughed at how stressed I was when I apologized for an error that I thought was a big deal. Assure your boss and/or colleagues that you’re working on delivering a solution as quickly as possible. If you have some time to think about it, carefully assess the situation. Determine what caused you to commit an error and the best possible course of action to fix it. If you have the luxury of time, it affords you to apologize and at the same time, assure all parties involved with a sound strategy to resolve the problem.
Now, get to work
If you haven’t done so yet, this is the part when you communicate what you’re going to do to set things right. This is important especially if your plan requires redirecting the workflow of your colleagues. Be proactive and alleviate any burdens you may have created by helping your colleagues with their projects. Your willingness to help will allow you to rebuild your credibility and trust. This may all require that you spend more time at work, but stick to it. Once the issue is resolved, check-in with your boss and colleagues to make sure that everything is okay on their end.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
Just like that Kelly Clarkson song goes, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Some of the best teachers in life are the very mistakes we’ve made. Take stock of what you’ve learned and incorporate them into the way that you work so that you can become more efficient, detail-oriented, and accurate. Show that your mistake made you better at what you do. If you’ve uncovered better ways to work in the process of correcting your error, make sure to share them with your colleagues.
Stay positive and carry on
Lastly, try to see the good that comes out of making a mistake. One story that I can share is this one time that I didn’t leave clear instructions to my intern when I asked her to mail out some partner correspondence. The names and addresses on the letters did not match the names and addresses on the labels that she stuck on the envelope. It dawned on me on a Friday night that I didn’t check her work. I wasn’t able to verify the error until Monday morning — by then our partners have already received the letters. I had to call every single one of them to apologize. I dreaded calling them, fearing that they would be upset. However, I found that most of them appreciated the time to chat as it gave them a personal update from the organization. It helped me build a stronger rapport with our partners. So don’t forget that while blunders usually result in negative consequences, there are good, serendipitous things that can happen too, putting you on a better place and helping you move forward.
