An important article by:- (Devashish Chakravarty,
Director, Executive Hiring, at QuezX.com) as
published in The Economic Times Oct 24,2016 India.
So you messed up big time at work. The good news is that you
are not alone. Most successful professionals admit to having messed up multiple
times.
The bad news is you have to deal with it. If
your blunder gets you fired, start looking for a job and figure out how will
you explain the situation to prospective employers. If your huge mistake does
not get you fired, here’s how to recover your credibility and career.
Keep your feet on the
ground
What could be the worst possible outcome? If you
sent an inappropriate email to a client, will your company lose the account?
What will it mean for your career? Will it cost you your reputation or job?
Once you are mentally prepared for the worst, you can plan actions to reduce
impact and initiate a recovery for your company and yourself.
Don’t
act ‘hyper’
Cut the drama. Stop saying ‘Sorry’ excessively
and apologising repeatedly to everyone while seeking their help to solve your
mistake. You may be expressing remorse, but for your colleagues, you are
wasting their time and thus the company’s resources. To your boss, you are
displaying an inability to handle pressure or take useful action.
Don’t be ‘chill’
You made a mistake and you wish to avoid telling
others because it will spoil your reputation. When they find out, you act as if
it isn’t a big deal and have an excuse ready. This is a terrible idea. Your
colleagues will believe that you do not care for consequences and are not
truthful. Your team leader will decide that you lack judgement and cannot be
trusted. By avoiding facts, you are denying yourself an opportunity to rectify
the error and rebuild your reputation thereafter.
Own up
Come clean before someone else finds out about
your error, advertises it and everyone makes negative assumptions about you.
Figure out who you need to inform and apologise to. Usually this includes colleagues
who are likely to be most affected and your boss. If it is a client who will
suffer from your mess up, then the sequence of telling people matters. Discuss
it with your manager and client facing people first to figure out the best
communication, timing and actions required. Taking ownership for your
mistake displays maturity, concern and reliability.
Bring a solution
Your colleagues and your manager expect you to
do your own thinking and to bring possible solutions to the table to reverse
the error. By presenting solutions, you save everyone’s time and they find it
easier to trust your abilities to solve the problem. If it is an irreversible
mistake, then solve for what can be done to compensate. First, identify the
actions that need to be taken and the people whose help will be required. If
you sent a faulty shipment to a client, then you may need a few permissions for
a second shipment. Second, articulate the correct communication plan to smooth
ruffled feathers. Finally, spell out how will you do things differently in
future to avoid such situations.
Allow for grief
It is ok to feel terrible for a while after
having blundered but it is not ok to continue wallowing in it for ever. If you
goofed up on a team project requiring rework and fresh deadlines, you will be
mortified and will find it difficult to face your colleagues every day. Permit
yourself to feel wretched and guilty for some time. Thereafter forgive
yourself, focus on your work and your positive contributions to keep your grief
in check.No one has the
time o remember your gaffes forever and neither should you dwell on them
at the cost of performance.
Slog it out
When things go wrong, be prepared to dig deep
and work really hard. Reach early to work and make sacrifices to deliver beyond
expectations. Take on tasks no one wants to do, go the extra mile to exceed
targets and put in effort to turn in the highest quality outcomes. Remember to
make and keep promises to your team, manager and clients in output and
deadlines. This rebuilds your credibility and marks you out as a person who
works hard when there is a problem.
Accept micro-management
If you have messed up a deadline that is
critical for your boss or your firm, it is natural for them to be concerned for
the future. Accept that your team leader may micro-manage your output until you
prove your reliability once again. Have a positive attitude when you report your
progress on an hourly or daily basis and help the person quickly audit and
question your work. Be extra careful in meeting deadlines and quality standards
and view this as an opportunity to rebuild trust. When things return to normal,
you will know your credibility is restored.
Find
the gold
Turn your mistake into an opportunity for
learning. Once you have taken immediate actions, get a good night’s sleep.
After the initial agony, reflect on what went wrong and what attitudes,
thoughts, communication and actions caused the error. Identify what needs to
change. Most big mistakes offer solid takeaways for you to strengthen your
career and join the league of the successful.
HOW TO AVOID MISTAKES
Process is critical
If you are focused on concrete goals, chances
are you will forget to take the right steps and miss your goal by a mile.
Though you may have a deadline and numbers to achieve, keep your mind focused
on building and getting processes right.
Feelings are not important
Giving importance to how you feel is
unproductive. When you dwell excessively on temporary feelings, output suffers
and you make bigger mistakes. Focus on the present and the small tasks you are
engaged in. That leaves no space to think about negative stuff.
Life
plans are not fixed
Obsessing about your life plan and how your
career is doing leads to loss of attention and mistakes in the present. Plans
are based on past information while circumstances change. Review your plan
every few months and focus on doing well at work every day.
Don’t
seek acceptance
Do not be concerned of what people think of you.
Your colleagues are too busy worrying about their own careers. Seeking
popularity and acceptance leads to mistakes at work. Choose to work on what
makes you happy and in doing it really well.
Guilt
wastes energy, time
Observe the inner voice criticising what you are
doing and the guilt that follows a blunder. Both prevent you from taking
corrective actions and right decisions. Get going with a task to restore your
energy levels and to make productive use of your time.
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