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The 5 Best Actions After Messing Up At Work Or Making Mistakes At Work · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Messing up at work or making mistakes at work happens to us all.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: I've made a ton of mistakes during my career.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: I've managed a lot of staff and they have all made mistakes without exception.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, of course we all want to avoid messing up or making big mistakes at work.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: I doubt I'll ever stop making mistakes.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: What I do hope is that the mistakes I do make get smaller and smaller, in terms of numbers but also impacts.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: I imagine you are the same.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: What is really important is what we do after messing up at work or making mistakes at work.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the worst things you can do after messing up include ignoring the mistake and pretending it didn't happen.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Or blaming someone else for the mistake which makes it ten times worse and they find out it is you.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Or third, staying silent when your mistake will damage other people's work.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Or giving a long list of excuses why you messed up, or refusing to learn from your mistakes.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: None of these will increase trust, your credibility, or the success of the team around you.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Keep making the same or similar mistakes and your job security could be threatened.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: For you to increase the trust others have in you to demonstrate how valuable a team member you are and to increase your career prospects.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Here are the five best actions to take after messing up at work.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, reduce the impact.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, be responsible.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Third, avoid making this mistake again.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, communicate quickly, and fifth, cultivate a growth mindset.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: The more you consciously work to avoid making mistakes at work, the less mistakes you will make.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Less mistakes or less big mistakes means better personal performance and you become a much more valuable team member.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: The first action after messing up at work is to reduce the impact.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: We are all going to make mistakes.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the best ways to make less mistakes at work include, firstly, work in a way that reduces the chances of mistakes, you know, such as listing out workings or assumptions rather than just jumping to the final output.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: And secondly, add in checks to your work so it makes it easier to spot mistakes.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Using checklists can also be very useful too.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Third, review your work prior to finalizing it or sending it to others.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, ask others to review your work prior to finalising it, and then you can offer the same to them.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Most businesses and bosses care about the impact of mistakes made on costs, on company profits, on reputations, on how clients and customers might be affected.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: The smaller the impact of the mistakes, the less concerned bosses and others will be that the mistake was made in the first place.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: When you do make a mistake, doing what you can to reduce the impact of your mistake is a brilliant first step.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: If you can fix your mistake preferably before anybody else notices, great.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Time is an important factor.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: The longer you or others have to fix mistakes, the better.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Don't procrastinate.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Start working on fixing your mistake as quickly as practical.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: And if you need help to reduce the impact of your mistake, then get help as quickly as you can.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: The earlier you start reducing the impact of a mistake, the better for you, your team, and everyone else relying on you.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles, and if you're new to this podcast, Enhanced.training provides resources and courses for you to build management expertise and confidence to lead any team to their best performance.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: I've included links to additional resources in the podcast description on what to do when you make mistakes at work and how best to communicate with your bosses.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Do take a look at these.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: The second action after making mistakes at work is to be responsible.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: I personally always try to fix a mistake quickly, and if I can't do that, I will openly take responsibility for it.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: When you take responsibility, others are a lot more willing to help you try to fix any issues caused.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: The more help you get, the quicker mistakes can be rectified.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: I have tried most other approaches, and this has easily been the best one that I've found.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Being responsible is about being honest with yourself.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: If you are in your head blaming others, making excuses to yourself or avoiding taking responsibility, you are ten times more likely to make the same mistake again.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: This does not help you.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Taking responsibility is also taking responsibility to fix the problems caused or provide a solution that will fix the mistake.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Taking responsibility for mistakes quickly and honestly actually reduces the anger and annoyance others might have towards you.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Most importantly, taking responsibility quickly builds a lot of trust with team members and bosses.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: You are a lot more likely to be given opportunities and important work if colleagues and bosses trust you to admit to mistakes quickly.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Trying to hide mistakes or push the blame onto others increases anger towards you and does a lot of damage to trust.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Hiding mistakes is also a lot more likely to magnify the problems those mistakes cause.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: This will come back to bite you hard at some point.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Always take responsibility quickly for mistakes.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: The third action after messing up at work is to avoid making this mistake again.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Generally speaking, most people are reasonably forgiving when you make a mistake for the first time round.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Make the same or similar mistakes a second or a third time or more, and that forgiveness evaporates quickly.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Every time you make a mistake, you firstly reflect on what caused you to make that mistake.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Was it rushing or trying to do too much or being distracted or not checking your work, etc.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Next, think about what you would change to make it really hard for you to make the same mistake again.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Build in some checks or a checking process or ask others to check your work.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Third, take action.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: Make the changes to avoid screwing up at work again in the same way.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Taking action is the best way to stop making mistakes at work and reduce the impact of those mistakes.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Do your absolute best to avoid making the same or similar mistakes again.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: The fourth action after making mistakes at work is to communicate quickly.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Very few of us work in isolation.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: What we do and produce usually affects others.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: If we make a mistake, passing on work with mistakes can magnify the problems if others don't spot the mistakes.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: I always found it pretty scary to communicate my mistakes to others.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want colleagues or bosses thinking badly of me or labelling me as incompetent or thinking I'm not good at my job.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: I quickly found out that not communicating quickly creates a lot more problems.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Communicating your mistakes takes courage.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Communicating quickly after making mistakes at work gives you, firstly, a lot more help to actually fix the mistake.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: This removes the problems quicker and with a lot less stress and hassle.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, it gives others more time to adjust their plans or renegotiate deadlines.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: And third, you give others fewer surprises, which in turn makes you a lot more reliable to work with.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: And fourth, you build a lot more trust and demonstrate your commitment to teamwork.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: My general rule is that when I make an error at work that impacts others and I can't fix it quickly, I'll communicate the mistake to others alongside what I'm doing to fix that mistake.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Don't give other people your problems without providing a solution to.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Communicate quickly to recover from making mistakes at work.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: The fifth action after messing up at work is to cultivate a growth mindset.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Successful people have made more mistakes than everyone else.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Very successful people learn from other people's mistakes as well as their own.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: I have transitioned from a successful corporate career into running my own companies twice.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: I have made a lot of mistakes.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: Those mistakes have taught me a lot.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Making mistakes is a really important part of learning.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: I know from personal experience that success really is built on failure if you develop a learning mindset.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: A learning mindset is taking every situation you can and reflecting on what you could have done differently or better and then trying that out the next time.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: A learning mindset is picking apart everything you or others have done and finding what you can learn and improve from that situation.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Creating a learning mindset and constantly looking to learn and improve is not easy.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: The more you practice trying to learn, the better and quicker you get at learning.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Get to the management ranks and being good at self-learning is part of the job description if you want to have a great career in management.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Develop a learning mindset as quickly and as early as you can in your career.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: You'll be a lot better off personally if you do.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, in summary, we all make mistakes at work.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: I personally have made a ton of mistakes and I am still making plenty of mistakes today.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not making mistakes, you are not learning nearly as quickly as you could.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: What you do when you make mistakes is far more important to your success during your career, no matter where you are right now.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: The five best actions after making mistakes at work or messing up at work are firstly reduce the impact, be responsible, avoid making this mistake again, communicate quickly, and then cultivate a growth mindset.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions on the five best actions after messing up at work or making mistakes at work, please email me at support at enhance.