If you’ve worked in an office for more than a day, it’s likely you’ve made a mistake. Making errors is par for the course, and most people agree that slip-ups are unavoidable. But what do you do when you’re feeling awful about it and are unable to move on?
Click start to play today’s Crossword and spot an ‘error’ in the clues.
According to an April 2010 report in the business news website Harvard Business Review (HBR), most people tend to overreact to their slip-ups, leading them to try hiding their errors, or go down paths that are known to be unproductive. Instead, it’s worth accepting you’ve made a mistake, learning from it, and moving on. Here are a few guiding principles to get you over the bump:
1. Acknowledge your mistake
It’s vital to be candid and transparent, without trying to blame others. Even if it was a group mistake, acknowledging your role in it is important, without being defensive or overly apologetic. The key aspect to focus on is, what’s next? How can the misstep be remedied, and what can you do differently, going forward? Also, explaining what led to the mistake can help you and your colleagues better understand why it happened, and how to avoid it in the future.
2. Make changes
The ideal mistake is where the cost of error is low, but the learning is high – these errors can play a critical role in leadership development. Respond quickly by getting on top of the mistake, and then getting ahead of it by dealing with the repercussions. If you’re able to demonstrate that you’ve learned from your error, and are taking steps to fix the problem, your peers and superiors will be reassured, and know they can trust you with equally important tasks in the future.
3. Rely on your support network
Don’t hesitate to ask current or former colleagues for their perspective on the mistake and what they believe you should do to recover from it. You may gain useful advice.
4. Forge ahead
Our confidence can take a hit when we make mistakes, but the key is to not let errors make you afraid of experimentation. Put the incident behind you and focus on the future. It’s also worth reminding yourself that mistakes are not a sign of weakness or ineffectiveness – it’s how you recover from it, and demonstrate your resilience and perseverance that matters.
5. Know that mistakes vary in degree
Some errors can be tougher to recover from than others. For instance, researchers have found that group mistakes are easier to get over, because the responsibility for the error is shared. But a mistake that breaks someone’s trust in you can have lasting consequences. So, be patient – forgiveness can take a long time.
How do you deal with the mistakes that you make? Play today’s Crossword and tell us at games@gulfnews.com.
