Member-only story
SCRIPTS
How to Own Up to a Mistake at Work
Don’t panic. Just follow these steps.
This isn’t about job-ending screwups. This is about not realizing a presentation was due today. This is about accidentally cc’ing a client on an email they definitely shouldn’t be reading. This is about the medium-size mistakes that make the day way more difficult than you, your boss, and your team thought it would be.
In moments like these, it’s always tempting to reach for excuses: you were given bad information, you never got the email, whatever moves the spotlight off of your own role in the screwup. But more often than not, shifting blame only makes you look worse. And as far-fetched as it may seem in the moment, it is possible to admit your mistake without shredding your reputation. In fact, owning up to it may be the only way to emerge from the situation unscathed. Here’s how to pull it off.
As crisis managers say: Get out in front of it
If it will take a while to get under control, or if you need to loop in a manager or client to reach a resolution, then have the conversation as soon as possible. “Withholding knowledge of an error may often be judged more harshly than the first,” says career coach Rebecca Fraser-Thill, director of faculty engagement at the Center for…
