WEBVTT - When you make a mistake at work

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:06.680
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:09.320 --> 0:00:13.880
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:14.440 --> 0:00:17.439
<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about how to handle things when you

0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:21.320
<v Speaker 1>make a mistake at work. Today's tip, like a few

0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:25.119
<v Speaker 1>other recent ones, comes from management expert Alison Green's book

0:00:25.400 --> 0:00:29.120
<v Speaker 1>Ask a Manager. This book covers all sorts of workplace

0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:33.199
<v Speaker 1>sticky situations and how to deal with them. This includes

0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:36.920
<v Speaker 1>major screw ups. We all like to pride ourselves on

0:00:36.960 --> 0:00:39.920
<v Speaker 1>our great performance, but you're going to make a mistake

0:00:39.960 --> 0:00:43.559
<v Speaker 1>at some point, Green rights, because you're human and that

0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:46.640
<v Speaker 1>is what we do. She notes that this category of

0:00:46.960 --> 0:00:51.360
<v Speaker 1>people who make mistakes most definitely includes her. She shares

0:00:51.360 --> 0:00:54.520
<v Speaker 1>that every high performer she has ever managed has likewise

0:00:54.720 --> 0:00:58.240
<v Speaker 1>royally screwed up once or twice. The important thing to know,

0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:00.920
<v Speaker 1>she says, is that the way you handle it can

0:01:01.040 --> 0:01:04.840
<v Speaker 1>end up being more important than the mistake itself. So

0:01:04.920 --> 0:01:08.880
<v Speaker 1>here's what you do. First, tell your boss what happened

0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:13.240
<v Speaker 1>right away. Don't put it off because you're dreading the conversation,

0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:17.400
<v Speaker 1>Green rights. Delaying will make things worse, partly because it

0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:20.120
<v Speaker 1>will send the message that you value your own comfort

0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:24.679
<v Speaker 1>over the needs of your work Second, take responsibility for

0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:28.960
<v Speaker 1>what happened. Don't make excuses if you act like it

0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:31.840
<v Speaker 1>wasn't a big deal or you aren't responsible for it.

0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:35.520
<v Speaker 1>This will compound the damage because now your boss will

0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:39.000
<v Speaker 1>be alarmed that your cavalier about errors or don't take

0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:42.600
<v Speaker 1>ownership of them. Green rights, Basically, if you show that

0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:45.480
<v Speaker 1>you know the situation is serious, your boss will be

0:01:45.520 --> 0:01:48.400
<v Speaker 1>in a better mindset about the mistake already because she

0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:52.560
<v Speaker 1>no longer has to convince you that it's a problem. Third,

0:01:52.880 --> 0:01:56.360
<v Speaker 1>briefly explain how the mistake happened. As Green notes, this

0:01:56.440 --> 0:01:59.000
<v Speaker 1>is important not only because your boss might want to

0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:02.560
<v Speaker 1>know the particularly because she'll want to know that you know.

0:02:03.200 --> 0:02:06.120
<v Speaker 1>If you don't understand how a mistake happened, it's more

0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:09.160
<v Speaker 1>likely to happen again, and both of you would like

0:02:09.200 --> 0:02:12.720
<v Speaker 1>to avoid that scenario. So finally, you need to explain

0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:15.280
<v Speaker 1>how you plan to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:18.799
<v Speaker 1>Green writes that in a lot of cases, your boss

0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:21.440
<v Speaker 1>won't care so much about the details of your plan.

0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:24.000
<v Speaker 1>She'll just want to know that you have a plan,

0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:27.680
<v Speaker 1>that you're taking it seriously and will work to prevent

0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:31.800
<v Speaker 1>similar mistakes in the future. If you do these things,

0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:36.320
<v Speaker 1>you're likely to convince everyone that you're learning and growing

0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:41.080
<v Speaker 1>in your role. You're on an upward trajectory. Indeed, in

0:02:41.120 --> 0:02:45.680
<v Speaker 1>some ways, setbacks can become opportunities. You can have a

0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:49.440
<v Speaker 1>real honest chat with your manager about your performance, how

0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:52.720
<v Speaker 1>you can improve, and you can convince her that you

0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:58.920
<v Speaker 1>are responsible and trustworthy. Life is never completely charmed. Something

0:02:59.080 --> 0:03:02.160
<v Speaker 1>is always going to go wrong somewhere, and when the

0:03:02.200 --> 0:03:04.280
<v Speaker 1>people who work with you know that you can stay

0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:08.400
<v Speaker 1>calm and focused on solutions, they'll trust you to handle

0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:12.520
<v Speaker 1>more and more. If you've ever made a big mistake

0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:15.080
<v Speaker 1>at work, I'd love to hear about how you recovered

0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:18.520
<v Speaker 1>and turned it into an opportunity. You can email me

0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:23.200
<v Speaker 1>at Before Breakfast Podcast at iHeart media dot com. In

0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:27.560
<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

0:03:27.560 --> 0:03:36.720
<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:39.200
<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:42.960
<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:48.040
<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E

0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:52.840
<v Speaker 1>the number four then Breakfast p o D. You can

0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:56.440
<v Speaker 1>also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at

0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:59.440
<v Speaker 1>i Heeart Media dot com that before Breakfast is spelled

0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:02.120
<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:10.480
<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:13.960
<v Speaker 1>of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

0:04:14.440 --> 0:04:17.960
<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:19.360
<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.