Post by sathish on May 24, 2010 12:46:56 GMT 5.5
Don’t moan over your mistakes, manage them
You accidentally ran a document that your boss wanted to be photocopied through the paper shredder.
You forgot all about an important appointment you had with a client. Or you emailed a silly forward to the senior management instead of the project report that was needed.
Oops! But the mistake has already been made. And before you bury your head in a sack and wave a despondent goodbye to your career, remember this- what you do in the immediate aftermath of a cringing error may well determine just how big the issue burns. No mistake is as worse as your indifference to it. There is no use fretting and getting stressed about an act that has already been committed, but if you can pull yourself together and prepare an action plan for recovering from the blip, you will find that there is a lot that you can do to repair the damage caused.
Act quickly: Take responsibility for the mistake. Laughing it off or trying to rationalise your mistake will only put you on the path of self-deception. Don’t try to pass the blame or make up an excuse for your mistake, but if you can offer a genuine, credible explanation for the mess up, then do so.
Acknowledge the harm: Accept the harm it may have caused to others and apologise sincerely. By doing so, you will be assuaging hurt feelings, limiting damage and accelerating towards a solution faster than you would be if you were busy pointing fingers.
Make amends for the damage done. Use your resourcefulness and initiative and do whatever you can to salvage the situation.
Show remorse: No, you don’t have to pull a long face, but show genuine repentance for your action and look for ways to earn back lost trust by showing true merit and diligence in work.
Learn lessons: Sometimes it seems easier to brush everything under the carpet and act like nothing has happened. But in the end, a denial of your mistake is a denial of reality.
Unless you acknowledge and address the underlying root cause of your mistakes, you will be trapped in the same vicious cycle, and new, more acute problems will keep surfacing again.
Move on: It is important that you do not allow your mistakes to immobilise you. Different kinds of mistakes have different recovery periods, but sooner or later, you will have to let go and move on with life.
Some mistakes are inevitable, but many can be avoided if you exercise due caution and responsibility in committing an act. But if you have made one, don’t feel sorry for yourself, for mistakes are meant to be learning experiences.
In fact the ability to bounce back from a mistake is a blessing in disguise, and speaks volumes about your character and professionalism. So don’t moan your mistakes. Manage them.
You accidentally ran a document that your boss wanted to be photocopied through the paper shredder.
You forgot all about an important appointment you had with a client. Or you emailed a silly forward to the senior management instead of the project report that was needed.
Oops! But the mistake has already been made. And before you bury your head in a sack and wave a despondent goodbye to your career, remember this- what you do in the immediate aftermath of a cringing error may well determine just how big the issue burns. No mistake is as worse as your indifference to it. There is no use fretting and getting stressed about an act that has already been committed, but if you can pull yourself together and prepare an action plan for recovering from the blip, you will find that there is a lot that you can do to repair the damage caused.
Act quickly: Take responsibility for the mistake. Laughing it off or trying to rationalise your mistake will only put you on the path of self-deception. Don’t try to pass the blame or make up an excuse for your mistake, but if you can offer a genuine, credible explanation for the mess up, then do so.
Acknowledge the harm: Accept the harm it may have caused to others and apologise sincerely. By doing so, you will be assuaging hurt feelings, limiting damage and accelerating towards a solution faster than you would be if you were busy pointing fingers.
Make amends for the damage done. Use your resourcefulness and initiative and do whatever you can to salvage the situation.
Show remorse: No, you don’t have to pull a long face, but show genuine repentance for your action and look for ways to earn back lost trust by showing true merit and diligence in work.
Learn lessons: Sometimes it seems easier to brush everything under the carpet and act like nothing has happened. But in the end, a denial of your mistake is a denial of reality.
Unless you acknowledge and address the underlying root cause of your mistakes, you will be trapped in the same vicious cycle, and new, more acute problems will keep surfacing again.
Move on: It is important that you do not allow your mistakes to immobilise you. Different kinds of mistakes have different recovery periods, but sooner or later, you will have to let go and move on with life.
Some mistakes are inevitable, but many can be avoided if you exercise due caution and responsibility in committing an act. But if you have made one, don’t feel sorry for yourself, for mistakes are meant to be learning experiences.
In fact the ability to bounce back from a mistake is a blessing in disguise, and speaks volumes about your character and professionalism. So don’t moan your mistakes. Manage them.