So you’ve made a mistake. It’s a pretty big mistake, but luckily you’ve noticed before anybody else has. But now you’ve got a dilemma – what do you do about it?
Mistakes in the workplace can range from a typo in an annual report, an errant email to a customer, under-quoting or perhaps you’ve let some sensitive company info out to the competition or a customer.
Or perhaps your mistake is one in dealing with people, where you’ve come across too heavy-handed or at the other extreme, let someone get away with something they shouldn’t have.
The problem with mistakes is everyone usually wants to know ‘who did it’ and they enjoy the blaming aspect. They enjoy pointing the finger and discussing the bad news. That is a common defensive blaming culture.
If you have made a mistake, there are two common ways of dealing with a mistake. Cover up or bravely disclose? Let’s explore the pros and cons.
Pros: This is a surprisingly common reaction to mistakes. If this is done with enough confidence and assertiveness then others may actually be convinced that a mistake never happened. There is a chance that your reputation and credibility are spared and you do not have to go through the pain of an embarrassing announcement/apology.
Cons: People notice mistakes, and when they notice a mistake they tend to enjoy pointing it out. If someone discovers a mistake you have made due to someone else pointing it out, the embarrassment you have tried to avoid will pale in significance to the embarrassment you’re about to receive.
Pros: People respect honesty. Although your team or boss may be furious at the news (depending on the transgression) it is infinitely better for you that you confess your sins. It builds trust with the people around you and the short-term hit you take in how people view your skills or competence will be massively outweighed by the benefit in the longer-term relationships of those around you.
Cons: Admitting an error is difficult. It’s an admission of guilt and imperfection, but let’s face it – none of us are perfect, so why pretend? Building the skill of delivering unpleasant news is a good thing.
Do you lose respect of your team for admitting it?
Not at all! In fact, you gain respect for honesty and you show you are human. The key will be how you manage yourself after the mistake. Being public about what we have learned is an important step for everyone.
So as a manager how do we create a culture that is not about blaming and defensiveness, but rather about learning from mistakes?
The trick is to turn a mistake into a way for continuous improvement and training. Here’s how you do it:
Establish an agenda item at team meetings for learning from mistakes. If it is a safety/accident problem there will be a more formal analysis. This approach covers the non-safety mistakes.
Invite anyone who has made a mistake of any kind during the week to present a mini training session using the mistake as the case study.
1. What was the problem? Describe the issue or mistake and how it came about.
2. What was the impact at the time? Eg. angry customer, delayed delivery, rework due to poor quality, loss of money or a sale, cost of reprinting, etc.
3. What was done at the time? Review and discuss what you did at the time to resolve the situation, how you handled it – both the positives and the negatives or things you omitted to do.
4. What do we do better in future? This is the critical element. How will we do things differently in the future? What did we learn? How can we make sure this never happens again? Maybe we can innovate, or at the very least improve our quality and service.
Eve Ash has produced many training DVDs on continuous improvement, innovation and learning from mistakes and best practice www.7dimensions.com.au.
Smart Company is the leading online publication in Australia for free news, information and resources catering to Australia’s entrepreneurs, small and medium business owners and business managers.
