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How to Handle Making Mistakes At Work – 6 Practical Steps to Rectify · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Making mistakes at work is something everyone does.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: How you handle the mistakes you make at work is what really matters.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: And doing what you can to prevent mistakes and certainly big mistakes is also important.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: I would also argue that if you are not making some mistakes, you are limiting the speed of your learning or you're being too safe.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Being successful in any business requires risks to be taken, which means mistakes will be made.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: To reduce the mistakes you make and to increase the speed of your learning, we're going through these six ways for how to handle making mistakes at work.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, take immediate responsibility.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, work out the root causes.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Third, create a multi-pronged action plan.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, communicate with stakeholders.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, seek guidance and support.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: And then sixth, cultivate a growth mindset.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: I personally view how you learn as much as possible from your mistakes as the most important step.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: So cultivate a growth mindset and you will approach handling mistakes at work in a much more positive way.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: I've had a 20-year management career working in amazing companies like Innocent Drinks, EY, Williams Lee, and many others.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new to this podcast, Enhanced.training shares people management expertise, resources and courses so you can become a better manager quicker and help your team deliver a lot more.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Do visit us at enhance.training and use the free resources and the free webinars to quicker develop your authentic management approach, build your skills and deliver more from a motivated and happy team.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you find this podcast useful, please share it with friends and colleagues.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: As mentioned earlier, you will make mistakes at work.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I've made lots and lots of mistakes in my career.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm covering what to do if you make a mistake at work.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, when thinking about how to handle making mistakes at work, always take immediate responsibility.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Admitting mistakes at work starts with your thinking and mental approach.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Acknowledge to yourself that you have made a mistake and that it is your mistake.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: You've made a decision, taken an action, or behaved in a certain way and it didn't work out well or not as well as you needed.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Don't unrealistically blame circumstances or others.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: These may have been contributing factors to why your decision, action or behaviour didn't work.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: The point of mentally accepting responsibility for the mistake is that, firstly, when you're asked, you'll admit to the mistake straight away.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, you'll take action to rectify your mistake.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Third, you're more likely to learn from your mistake, which I think is super important.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: All of these outcomes are very valuable to you personally and to your team and business.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Should I admit to my mistakes at work?
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Is a question many people ask themselves.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you've made a mistake and you are asked about it, always admit to the mistake straight away.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Say you're sorry and tell the person asking what you're doing to rectify the mistake.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Avoid defensiveness or trying to shift the blame.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: By trying to avoid blame, you damage the trust others have in you, which will become a much bigger problem for you personally over time.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Take immediate responsibility.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, when working out how to handle making a mistake at work, make the time to work out the root causes of the mistake.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Working out why the mistake happened is really important for you and your professional growth.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Reflect on your thinking processes and your emotions leading up to the mistake being made.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Making the time to do this helps.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, you take the right action to fix the immediate mistake.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, you'll learn as much as possible from the mistake.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: And third, it reduces the chances of this mistake happening again.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Reducing your mistakes and the impact of those mistakes will improve your performance and enjoyment of being at work and reduces your stress and anxiety.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: All great things.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: For example, I promoted the wrong person into a people management role.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: This person was good at many aspects of their job and supported me a lot personally.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: I had doubts about their ability to manage people, but I hoped my doubts would be proved wrong.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: It took me losing a team member they were managing before I accepted this person was causing more problems than they were solving.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: If I'd taken action a year earlier, I would have been better off.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: And more importantly, part of my team would have been very much better off.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: I spent quite a bit of time reflecting on my mistake.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Always take time to work out the root causes of your mistake.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Be as honest with yourself as possible and you will learn more.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thirdly, when working out how to handle making mistakes at work, always create a multi-pronged action plan following the mistake.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: The action taken after making mistakes separates the good team members from the okay and from the poor team members.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: As soon as you realize that you've made a mistake, plan out the action you need to take to rectify the mistake.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Taking action is how to get over making a mistake at work as quickly and as positively as possible.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: If you can fix the mistake on your own, then fix it as quickly as possible.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: This gives you the option to tell people about the mistake or stay quiet about it.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Make your decision based on the circumstances, the people involved, and your work culture.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: If you need the help or permission of others to take action that you need to rectify the mistake, then proactively admit to the mistake.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Work out the actions that you would like to take before speaking to colleagues, stakeholders or managers.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Having a plan puts you in a much better light than just bringing a problem to others.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Go into as much detail when planning your action so that the steps are clear to you and others.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: You have clear time frames and expected outcomes of the action.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Don't put this step off.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: The quicker you tackle a mistake made, the easier it is to take action and get the help needed.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: The longer you wait, the harder taking action becomes.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Create a plan of action to rectify the mistake.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: The second prong of your action plan should be to think about how to prevent this mistake happening again.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Options include firstly mentally remembering the signs leading up to this mistake so that you can take preventative action quicker next time.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, changing or adding two processes to make this mistake less likely.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: For instance, adding a review step in.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Third, creating a mini training program to teach others how to avoid this mistake.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Always take action following a mistake.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Taking action is one of the best ways for how to recover from mistakes at work.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, when working out how to handle making mistakes at work, decide how to communicate with stakeholders.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: When you've made a mistake at work that affects others, transparently sharing the mistake with your stakeholders or team members creates a number of benefits.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, you can get help rectifying the mistake or implementing the actions needed to rectify it.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, you give them the ability to plan or adjust their plans to minimize the impact of the mistake.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: And third, you build trust and demonstrate you're open and honest in how you work.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: By communicating with stakeholders, you reduce surprises and you demonstrate accountability and a commitment to rectifying the mistake.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: It is so much better if you are the one to tell others about a mistake made and suggest a plan to rectify it rather than them discovering the mistake and then asking you about it.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: You look a lot more professional while demonstrating you are a strong team player.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: I personally communicate mistakes at work that have an impact on others as soon as I have a plan to rectify the mistake.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: I found this to be the best approach and it definitely improves your reputation and the trust others have in you.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, when working out how to handle mistakes at work, seek guidance and support if you are not sure about how best to rectify the mistake.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: I've had to ask for help lots of times after I've made a mistake at work.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Asking others for help or your boss for support in planning out how best to rectify the mistake usually leads to a better solution, a quicker solution and takes some of the pressure off you.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: All good things in my view.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: I would create a plan first, even if you're not very confident of your plan and then ask for help to improve it.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: This means you are bringing solutions with a problem rather than just bringing a problem.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: There are lots of people you could ask for guidance and support.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, your manager, secondly your team, third, colleagues and experts within the business, fourth, people in your network outside of work, fifth, mentors and coaches if you have them, and then sixth, anyone else that could sensibly create solutions to help rectify the problem.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate that in some business cultures showing weakness and asking for help can be detrimental to you.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: You will have to weigh this up against the impact of your mistake and how you can rectify it.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Providing you don't make lots of mistakes compared to your peers, nor keep repeating the same mistake, I found asking for guidance and support in resolving errors a very positive experience.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Don't be scared of asking for help.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth, when working out how to handle making mistakes at work, seek to cultivate a growth mindset.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: How you respond and handle making mistakes at work depends largely on your confidence and your mindset.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: I view making mistakes as part of learning.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Learning new skills and approaches usually need some experimentation.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Creating new and better solutions means trying new things.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: Not all of these will be successful and you will make mistakes.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Treat each mistake as a learning opportunity and learn as much as you can from it.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Reflect on what went wrong.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: Think through alternative routes or options that might have been more successful.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Ask for help in creating even better options.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: And put one of those options into practice next time and compare it to your current situation, which resulted in a mistake at work.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Keep repeating this plan, test and learn cycle until you get good results.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: There are many sayings along the lines of mistakes are stepping stones to success.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: I've made many mistakes in my career, and I feel that I have had a lot of success in my career.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: I have tried to learn as much as possible from each mistake, and of course tried hard not to repeat the same mistakes.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: I've also tried to learn from mistakes that others have made at work.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: This gives me valuable learning without the pain of actually making the mistake itself.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: You will make mistakes.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Don't make the bigger mistake of not learning from your original mistake.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: So, in summary, you will make mistakes at work.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: How to handle making mistakes at work is the key to making the best of the situation.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: Be open and honest about mistakes that you've made, and you will build trust and make getting help a lot easier.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Both will help reduce the impact of the mistakes you do make.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: Then do your best to learn as much as you can from your mistake and try hard not to repeat it.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: In my view, this is a key part of becoming successful, no matter what you do.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: And as a reminder, we've been through these six steps to for how to handle making mistakes at work.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: First, take immediate responsibility.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: Second, work out the root causes.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Third, create a multi-pronged action plan.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, communicate with stakeholders, fifth, seek guidance and support, and lastly, cultivate a growth mindset.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have any questions, please drop me an email at support at enhance.training and I'll get back to you.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.