You screwed up… NOW WHAT?

Most of you who know me know I’m a pretty happy, level-headed and responsible (despite rumors otherwise) person.

But I screwed up. Screwed up bad. This time, it was on a project I was hired to do. Just one of those sloppy rare occasions in which I truly butchered something someone cared about.

I know this may come as a shock (ahem), but I do screw up on occasion. I tend to be a bit self-absorbed, I don’t think before I do sometimes and I can hurt others by being selfish and reckless.

But, like most people, I don’t intend to make mistakes and I’m certainly not malicious about it.

So… when you screw up bad, what do you do? How do you make it better? CAN you make it better?

It still comes down to optimism, I think, and believing you can fix or at least help with mistakes eventually. It also depends on what kind of mistake it was – personal or profession.

So what do you do:

1. Own up to it. If you screwed up and it’s your fault and you know it is, then own up to it. You own up to your successes, so own up to your mistakes too. Don’t shy away, don’t try to put the blame on someone else and don’t make excuses. I know it’s hard to look like the jackass, but it also will give you some shadow of credibility. A strong person admits their mistakes.

2. Apologize sincerely. Yup, that means swallowing some pride and just saying, “I am very sorry.” What this does NOT mean is being beat up endlessly about it. You can only apologize so much, and if the person you wronged won’t accept it or keeps rubbing it in, then eventually you have to realize you’ve done all you can and now it’s on the other person or company to accept that a mistake was made.

3. Explore ways to fix the situation. If it’s a professional mistake, ask what you can do to rectify the situation… and then do it. This shows you’re willing to work extra hard to make your client/business/boss happy while still acknowledging that you’ve made a mistake but are capable of fixing it. This is a little trickier if you’ve betrayed a friend or hurt someone personally. Still, ask “What can I do to make this better?” Sincerity and a willingness to battle for a solution goes a long way.

4. Don’t beat yourself up too much. Yeah, when we screw up, we want to wallow in our own self-pity and self-hatred. Well, guess what? You’re not a God and you aren’t perfect. EVERYONE screws up bad sometimes. What you can do is find ways to make sure the same mistake doesn’t happen again, find out what inside you made you screw up and find out how to make amends. If it can’t be fixed, strike it up to experience hard learned.

5. Limit the humor. If you’re like me, you try to lighten a dark mood through laughter. If you screwed it up and someone is hurt/angry/losing money/losing respect because of you, then you better not make a joke out of it. In the Work Awesome blog (http://workawesome.com/your-job/how-to-fix-that-mistake/), the author says “Show you take these matters as seriously as they do. This will encourage them to cut you some slack. These guys like to see that you’re taking this seriously. Otherwise they’re going to believe you’re going to do this again.”

6. AGAIN SAY SORRY. Apologizing sincerely for whatever mistake you made goes a long way.

Mistakes happen. How you handle your mistake will determine your personal outcome. Good luck, folks, on any future mistakes you may make and don’t be TOO hard on yourself.

 

Tags: angry, apology, fixing problems, mad, mistakes, optimism, responsibility, sad, screwing up, work