By Art Petty in Management Excellence by Art Petty Blog Article
A Mistake is a Horrible Thing to Waste
“6 Suggestions for Dealing with and Benefiting from Your Mistakes:
1. Practice saying the words, “I was wrong.” For some of us, those words don’t flow easily, but they are the most powerful words in your vocabulary when it comes to dealing with your mistake. Anything less will sound like an excuse.
2. No “Buts” Please. Saying, “I was wrong, but,…” is just as bad as making up an excuse. Don’t be tempted to qualify your mistake…it just sounds weak and hurts your credibility.
3. Resist the urge to point your finger. If it happened on your watch or on your team, it’s your fault. Stories of bosses pointing fingers at others for their mistakes (and at themselves for the success of others) are legendary. …
4. Share where you went wrong. If your gaffe was an interpersonal one, admit to the other party that you recognize what you did wrong. … If the mistake was related to a decision, assess where you might have gone wrong and share the mistake. “ … This is powerful credibility building juice and a teaching moment for everyone involved.
5. Apologize. The fine art of the workplace apology is often ignored in the workplace. Instead of a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of character and strength.
6. Keep a journal and review it to support your own improvement. I’m a huge fan of maintaining a decision and issue log and noting how my decisions work-out over time. Log the results and take a few minutes to jot down what you learned. Review the journal frequently.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
Rather than dwell on or attempt to hide your mistakes, confront them head-on, help everyone learn something, including professionalism under fire and move on!”
