May Busch* says mistakes are a part of the learning process as people’s careers advance — the trick is not to dwell on them to the extent that one mistake begets another.
You’re going to make mistakes at work. We all do.
The key is to keep them from doing irreparable damage to your career.
In fact, what separates those who keep progressing and those who don’t often comes down to their ‘mistake response’.
That is, the way they handle themselves after making a mistake.
Here are three steps that will help you keep those inevitable mistakes from damaging your career
Start off on the right foot by owning your mistake
When everyone else can see it’s your mistake, don’t be the only one trying to back out of it.
It can backfire and make you look insecure.
That means taking responsibility rather than arguing or trying to duck it.
In an era of finger-pointing and judging others, it’s a sign of confidence to own up to an error.
My big boss sent a memo to the entire Department explaining why his approach led to missing the business mandate on a big financing deal.
He also laid out the five lessons he took from it so that we could all benefit from this painful lesson.
That took a lot of guts and it also set an example for the rest of us that we could own our mistakes and use them as learning experiences.
Armed with your learnings, it’s time to move forward
While it’s natural to want to dwell on the mistake, it’s not helpful to keep replaying the scene.
Having made many mistakes, I can attest that a variety of factors that will conspire to keep you in a negative state.
The stress hormones running through your body will pull you back into wallowing.
To move beyond this, there are three things you can do.
First, do what I like to call a ‘pattern interrupt’. This means disrupting your negative thoughts and emotions by doing something different.
My daughter uses the ‘clap, clap, next’ technique on the basketball court.
If she’s missed a shot, she’ll clap her hands twice and say “next” to remind herself to move on.
You could also snap a rubber band that’s around your wrist. Or you could get up and walk around for a change of scenery.
Second, go to your journal. Writing things down gets them out of your brain so you don’t have to think about them and re-review constantly.
Third, you can remind yourself of what you’re capable of at your best. That way, you’ll have that positive visual in mind to move toward.
Manage your demeanour so it doesn’t broadcast you’ve just made a mistake
Having taken steps one and two, you’re likely to feel okay about things even after a misstep.
Feeling composed is the surest way to come across as composed.
However, in case you still haven’t quite gotten over the embarrassment or shame of making your mistake, you owe it to yourself to do your best to manage your demeanour.
People take their cues from how you behave. Like when a young child falls down but isn’t really hurt, if concerned adults rush over the toddler is likely to start crying.
Similarly, if you’re acting like the world has fallen apart when you make a mistake, that amplifies everyone else’s views of the event.
They may also form an impression of you as being brittle, lacking maturity or unable to handle yourself when things get tough.
None of which will help you advance in your career.
As any professional athlete or poker player knows, you don’t want people to be able to tell by looking at you whether you’ve just made an error or done well.
As a professional in your field, adopting that demeanour will serve you well too.
What’s done is done and you can’t worry about it. Just start from where you are now and begin your mistake response steps from here.
Remember that people will be glad to see that you’ve bounced back, so keep moving forward.
Dwelling on a mistake you’ve already made means you’re taking your eye off of what’s happening in the present.
That can easily lead to making another mistake.
So avoid making the mistake after the mistake. Instead, focus on what you’re doing now, keep your head in it and look for ways to change the momentum.
Which of the above steps would most help you regain your composure and help you recover after making a mistake?
*May Busch works with smart entrepreneurs and top managements to build their businesses. She can be contacted at [email protected].
This article first appeared at maybusch.com.
