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Even the most ballerific person makes mistakes and occasionally they happen in the workplace. Knowing how to handle the situation after a mistake is made can make or break your credibility (and help you keep your job). None of us are perfect and a mistake doesn’t have to equal a failure. Learning how to recover is simpler than you would think. Read up on four steps from Black Enterprise
Own your mistake
Not admitting mistakes can damage your reputation, cause you to lose business, or even kill potential career advancement opportunities. So clearly articulate your actions and behavior. When you acknowledge what went wrong you can open your mind to next steps, solutions, or new possibilities. Also, when you accept your role in a situation, people gain a new level of respect for you as well as your work.
Forgive yourself quickly
The amount of time you spend beating yourself up over a mistake slows down your career growth. Think of it this way: mastery requires mistakes. Forgive yourself.
Figure out what went wrong
Ask yourself: What’s the lesson? Take a moment to look back on the situation and assess your steps. Did you overlook any tools or steps? Did you let yourself get distracted? Did you use the wrong “choice of words” to communicate?
Propose a solution to prevent the mistake at work from happening again and ask your colleagues or leadership team for feedback
Ultimately, your colleagues, clients, or superiors want to feel like you care about producing quality work, genuinely fixing the relationship, and preserving the reputation of the company. Think of it this way, when you come to the table with solutions, it places you in a position of power and rebuilds your credibility as a leader.
If you’re unable to identify a solution, (e.g., process, system, or tool) ask someone on your team: What am I missing here? How can I do better at work? Is there anything I can do (or stop doing) to make things better between us? These types of questions open up the possibility for you to have a two-way conversation, move past the problem, and resume a positive working relationship.
Being accountable and focusing on the solution is a great way to earn the trust and respect of your peers and managers.
