As human beings, we make mistakes; there is no perfect person. Mistakes are what make us human, and making them at work is expected. These mistakes can be a result of varying reasons, but whatever the reason is, don’t beat yourself about it. These incidents can a learning curve, an avenue to do better. Regardless of the magnitude of the mistake, these few steps would show you how to recover after making an error at work.
Own it
So you made a mistake, and what? There is nothing you can do to undo that mistake. It has happened, and it’s time to accept it. Denying that the error occurred would not make it automatically disappear. Don’t point fingers or try to blame it on anyone else; accept that you’ve made a mistake. Accepting that you’ve made a mistake in the first instance provides an opportunity for you to solve it.
Report to the proper authorities
You’ve made a mistake already; the next course of action is to inform everyone who would be affected by your error. Don’t wait for them to notice before you sound the alarm.
Leave your feelings out of this.
It is normal to feel bad when you make a mistake, especially when you could have avoided it. But making that envelop you isn’t going to do you any good. Separate your feelings, and think logically. Doing this would help you create clear-cut plans to rectify any mistake you made. Have a fail-forward mindset.
Make a plan
Create a road map to recovery. You have to take a step back and strategize because of the setbacks your error might have incurred. Having a solution-oriented mindset would help keep you level-headed and calm. Making a plan would also help you prevent any other mistake you might make in carrying out your assignment.
Fix it
Put your plan into action. Fixing an error comes with its relife level; you no longer have difficulty sleeping, and every email doesn’t get you anxious. Make sure to execute your strategy as planned to prevent further errors. Sticking to the plan would prevent you from making the same mistake repeatedly.
Keep Learning
When you’ve successfully fixed your mistakes, take time out to analyze what went wrong. As you do this, you can build case studies and create steps to prevent them from happening again.
When fixing an issue, make sure you keep everyone in your team in the loop on how far you’ve gone and what problems you’re having. Being transparent would help keep the trust they have in you.
Also read, the perfect way to answer the interview question, “tell me about yourself.”