3 Tips to Recover From Your Dumbest Moment at Work
We’ve all done it once, maybe twice. We’ve done something dumb at work that compromises our peer’s or bosses confidence in us. But how do we bounce back? How do we move forward, after making a mistake? “How to Recover From Your Dumbest Moment at Work†by Anne Fisher, CNNMoney.com offers three tips on how to rebound from a dumb moment. Below are the highlights of her article with my commentary.
1. Resist the Clean Slate
Often people, who have goofed, feel they have no choice but to leave their job and start over with a clean slate somewhere else. But let’s say you’ve made a big, visible mistake – is there anything you can do that’s less drastic?
- Who else was involved in the mistake? If you’ve failed because you disobeyed higher-ups, or you’ve failed in such a way that senior management looks bad as a result – good-bye, you’re probably leaving.
- How severe was the mistake? It’s usually not so hard to recover your reputation after a minor mishap. If you make an Enron size mistake, rebuilding your good name will take many, many years of hard work, if it ever happens at all.
- How well do you get along with your boss and your colleagues? How good do they think you are? If you’ve built strong relationships all along the way, and if people generally trust you and think highly of your work, you can usually recover even from a very big misstep. If not, then start earning people’s forgiveness before you need it. Work on building solid professional relationships before there is a crisis or before you have a real need to call on those people. Goodwill built along the way, helps minimize the damage.
2. First Steps in Bouncing Back
What’s the first step in bouncing back from a screw up? Hold yourself accountable, go to those affected by your mistake.
“You have to sincerely apologize to whoever was affected by the mistake, and explain how you plan to avoid repeating it…You have to take responsibility for what you did or said. People have to see that you are sorry. Getting defensive or trying to excuse yourself won’t work.â€
I was once betrayed by one of my former bosses, who was also a friend. I was there for them, when they were looking for a job for over a year. I believe I was shared some of my career management resources with them. We ended up in the same company again, after he referred me in, only to take it back. Fortunately, my soon-to-be VP didn’t let that deter her. Unfortunately, he betrayed me, since they worked at a level higher than me. They were eventually were reduced to my level, becoming my coworker. To their credit, they knew I knew about the betrayal. They apologized. I listened. Thanked them. And we moved on. I’ll never trust this person again, but I know it couldn’t have been easy to come to me like that, so I respected that effort.
3. Move On
Once you’ve apologized, what’s next? Move on! It can be hard to let go of a failure. But we have to let go, forgive our self and try not to let it hinder our future work. It’s important to be open, letting people know they don’t have to walk on egg shells around us. More important, you shouldn’t walk on on egg shells either. If you made the mistake, give yourself enough time to start demonstrating confidence (not arrogance) again. But not too soon, as to not put people off.
My Dumb Mistake
Once you take care of the immediate damage control based on Fisher’s advice, it’s important that you regain your confidence again. When I was a product manager, I made a mistake on a conference call. I didn’t manage not-so-pleasant conference call very well with one of our channel partners . The guy on the call requested an executive. He was higher up the food chain, so I mistakenly called in my CEO onto the call, since he was in the other room. Big mistake. My CEO was clearly annoyed and disappointed that I couldn’t control or facilitate the call. The call got away from me, leaving me feeling like an idiot.
Lessons are Hard, but Worth It
After the fact, my VP coached me on my mistake, offering advice on how to manage that type of situation in the future. However, it took time to get my CEO’s confidence back. After taking responsibility with my CEO, I had to work hard to let it go and regain my own self-confidence.
We all make mistakes. That’s how we learn becoming more senior knowledge workers, middle managers, or C-levels. So hang in there if you’ve made dumb one. Chin up! You can recover if you follow Fisher’s advice.
