YOU’VE MADE A COLOSSAL MISTAKE AT WORK

Every week you do a hundred things right, but once in a while something slips. And occasionally, it can be a serious error with potentially career-wrecking consequences. Caroline Fernandes, an executive leadership and cultural coach (indianrenaissance.in), says that one thing to do is to pause for a moment to remember that mistakes can be viewed from multiple angles in terms of the impact they have. Who, exactly, is this affecting?

It could be that the error is a lot smaller than you think – it's just that you are burning up inside with shame. An analogy is the cellist playing for the first time with an experienced orchestra, who plucks a couple of dud notes. He thinks he has ruined the concert, when in fact not a single member of the audience even noticed.

The fact is that everyone makes the occasional mistake, and your bosses might be more understanding than you would imagine.

‘To me, taking ownership for mistakes, and really authentically managing a crisis in a way that is effective for the business – as well as for the relationships that are liable to be impacted by the mistake – can certainly be something within our control,’ says Fernandes. ‘A mistake gives you the chance to practise authentic leadership by realising the impact, taking responsibility and working with stakeholders to develop healthy, progressive options to recover or repair what is possible.’

In short: Take a breath, get to work fixing the problem and learn from the experience.

Don’t do this: Pretend it wasn’t you. ‘Passing the blame, shying away from ownership and using tactics to evade the truth will all show you in poor light,’ says Fernandes, ‘and will not reflect a mature, professional, growth mindset.’