Mistakes

We all make mistakes so if you’re reading this, you’re in good company! Albert Einstein is one of many successful people who have said “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” Henry Ford said “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” And George Clooney put it a different way: “You learn from the mistakes you make and from the mistakes other people make. The truth is you don’t learn from success, you learn from failure.”

Mistakes happen but they don’t define you. When you make a mistake, it means you're trying, you're doing something, and you're learning. If you make a mistake, someone may see it and point it out, or even make fun of you. Mistakes might make you feel like a failure and may be embarrassing, but if you don't try because you're afraid to make a mistake, you'll never grow.

Since you are going to make mistakes, you need a game plan when you realize you’ve made one. Here are a few thoughts on how you recover.

1. Admit to yourself that you made a mistake. Nobody likes to be wrong or to make a mistake, so your initial reaction may be emotion that is filled with hurt feelings and pride. You might minimize it, make an excuse or even try to blame someone else, but it has to be fixed. So, set your emotions aside and deal with the facts.
2. Evaluate your mistake. Ask yourself how serious the mistake was. You might be afraid to own up to the mistake because it had serious consequences or because you’re afraid of the outcome. Until you confront it you can’t make it right so you’re just going to make the situation worse.
3. What were its effects? Identify the effect so you know where you stand. Did you forget to include something in a report that needs to be added? Was it something you said to just one person or to a group that needs to be corrected? Will it result in an unsafe condition at a jobsite? Did you lose money for your company? Determining the effect will make it easier to quickly correct your mistake.
4. Acknowledge and apologize. Be ready to own it. Go directly to the people that are affected by your mistake, and give the details, facts only, no emotion! Take responsibility for what you did, admit it and apologize sincerely. Time is of the essence. The more quickly you own the mistake and take action the more people will respect and trust you in the future.
5. Seek restoration. How can it be fixed? Was it just time that needs to be re-invested to correct a report or does money need to be repaid? Maybe it’s both time and money to revisit a jobsite. Determine the cost, and be willing to pay it. Understand what caused you to make the mistake in the first place, and put a system in place to ensure that you don’t make the same mistake again.
6. Accept the consequences. Consequences may not be as bad as you anticipate, but whatever they are, there’s always a cost for making a mistake, even though it’s a part of the process of learning.

So how do you bounce back after making a mistake?

1. Learn the lesson. Any thoughts about your mistake should focus on how and what you learned from it. What can you control if the situation arises in the future that will prevent it from happening again? Is there any benefit from the mistake that can be shared with others to help them avoid doing the same thing. The value in making a mistake is to learn as you move on.
2. Avoid dwelling on it; remind yourself that we all make mistakes. By not dwelling on our mistakes, it’s easier to set them aside and move on. There’s no way to go back in time and do or say things differently. Once it’s done, reliving it, again and again, serves no useful purpose. In fact, doing so can lead to excessive self-criticism, lower self-confidence, and depression.
3. Maintain a positive mental attitude towards the remainder of your tasks. A positive outlook will help you focus your remaining energy on the task at hand instead of continuing to make mistakes because you’re upset about the last one. Don’t aggravate the issue by asking: “Why did you do such a dumb thing?” but rather ask, “How can we correct this?” Remind yourself that you’ve been successful many times before—and will be again! Focus on good outcomes and double down on your strengths.

Many people aren’t willing to accept responsibility for a mistake and look to place blame elsewhere, even without cause. The mistake has already occurred, so move on to the resolution don’t get caught up in the blame game. Dealing with the aftermath of a mistake should always be focused on a controllable aspect of the situation (you should make sure the circuit is off in the future) rather than a personal weakness you might think you have (I’m dumb, or I can't do this). Be open-minded about mistakes and realize that they’re going to happen to everyone—it’s what we learn from them that counts.

We all have “off” days where our performance might not be up to par. One of the most important skills to learn is to develop and maintain a positive attitude, especially when it seems the most difficult. No one really intends to go out and make mistakes they just happen. If you don’t know that you have to do something, or haven’t been properly trained to do something, you might make a mistake simply by not doing it, so stay positive.

Mistakes are part of the learning process and teach us to know better for the next time. Mistakes should be excused or tolerated during the learning process, but there should be no place in your business or on your team for those make repeated problems because they don’t care. That’s no longer a mistake, that’s a problem! No matter how hard we might try, or how well-planned a process may be, people are human, mistakes are made, and consequences exist. Let’s join those successful people who have used their mistakes as opportunities to LEARN and find a way that will work!

The above content is extracted from Mike Holt's Leadership Skills textbook.

--

Mike Holt is an author, businessman, educator, speaker, publisher and National Electrical Code? expert. He has written hundreds of electrical training books and articles, founded three successful businesses, and has taught thousands of electrical code seminars across the US and internationally. His company, Mike Holt Enterprises, has been serving the electrical industry for over 40 years, creating and publishing books, DVDs, online training and curriculum support for electrical trainers, students, organizations, and electrical professionals. 

Mike has devoted his career to studying and understanding the National Electrical Code and finding the easiest, most direct way to share that knowledge with others. He has taught over 1,000 classes on over 40 different electrical-related subjects to tens of thousands of students. His knowledge of the subject matter, coupled with his dynamic and animated teaching style, has made him sought after from companies like Generac, IAEI, IBEW, ICBO, NECA, and Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Boeing, Motorola, and AT&T. He is a contributing Editor for Electrical Construction and Maintenance Magazine (EC&M) and formerly Construction Editor to Electrical Design and Installation Magazine (EDI). His articles have been seen in CEE News, Electrical Contractor (EC) International Association of Electrical Inspectors (IAEI News), The Electrical Distributor (TED) and Power Quality Magazine (PQ).