Make some mistakes – and learn

You’ve just made a big mistake. Your first response may be to rationalize. It wasn’t my fault. Everyone makes mistakes. And you are right, nearly everyone makes mistakes.

In fact, successful people make more mistakes than unsuccessful people. Successful people take their mistakes and profit from them because learning from mistakes can be a wonderful experience. To get ahead in the world, you usually have to stick out your neck. Risk takers sticking out their neck expect mistakes, but they count on the fact that one big success negates lots of mistakes.

If you want to take a few risks and learn how to handle inevitable mistakes some of the systematic ways to handle yourself are:

• When you make a mistake, keep cool. Consider backing away from the problem briefly if you can. Try some relaxation exercises if you have gotten up-tight. Then survey the problem from a safe distance and get a new perspective.

• Consider the options: mistakes are ways to find new answers. Look on your mistake as a challenge and opportunity to learn.

• If your mistake causes you some pain, don’t try to shut out the pain. Work through it, then put the pain aside. If you are a perfectionist, mistakes really hurt. Believe that the next attempt will be closer to your desired goals.

• Never attempt a cover-up. If you have to face a superior and admit your mistake, do so as soon as possible. Don’t be too defensive. And don’t put the blame on someone beneath you. Explain what happened and explain what you are doing to fix it.

• Don’t wallow in self-pity and get in a state of inertia. Don’t wring your hands and ask for sympathy. Do something constructive as soon as possible.

• Don’t dismiss your mistake as trivial. If it was worth mentioning, it is worth saying that you regret what happened and are going to take steps to prevent it from happening again.

• Don’t make excuses. Whatever your assignment was, your responsibility was to handle it. If you delegated it to someone else and they failed, you are still responsible. Search for solutions.

• Look for the challenge. Nearly all mistakes can be used as vehicles for change and improvement. They are worth studying and having a plan for action to keep from repeating them.

• If you have coworkers, discuss your strategy with them. Let them see that you turned the mistake into a good lesson. Share with them the error and the solution, and help them prevent a similar one.

• If you are the employer, watch for chronic mistake makers. If a person doesn’t improve performance and keeps repeating mistakes, he or she needs to be reassigned or re-evaluated. If you are the chronic mistake maker, consider asking for an assignment where your skills will match your duties. Having subordinates know exactly what they are supposed to do is a good measure of prevention. At the same time, being thoroughly familiar with your own responsibilities helps.

You have made a mistake and are working to correct it. Console yourself in the fact that a person who is willing to take risks and learn from mistakes is far more valuable than one who never tries anything new.

Copyright c 1990 Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D.