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Working Moms
groovygrl
member
Tell me how you get over errors/embarrassments/etc at work...
groovygrl
member
in Working Moms
I feel like every time I do something that was not the perfect choice or the best way to do something or do something I feel is embarrassing b/c it was a dumb move in retrospect or just an oversight that I should have been able to prevent (work related, not personal type stuff) at work, it just weighs me down for 1-2 weeks... I have trouble sleeping, I dream about it or wake up in the night and can't go back to sleep b/c I start thinking about it, it can affect my mood, etc. None of the things I have done less than ideally have ever (knock on wood) been anything earth shattering, I'm just hard on myself & don't like to have others see me screw up...it always blows over and afterward I realize how I got worked up over such silly small things and how many bigger things there could be that could go wrong or to worry about that go well most of the time and that my boss is very happy w/ the job I'm doing and I feel good about my work the majority of the time... I try to remind myself of that when I'm feeling down/bad but it is hard...
How do you get past these situations, esp if you're someone who can easily let things roll off? I'm only 6 months into a very different & new role and it feels like every week there is some new thing that I have to learn about 'the hard way' b/c it unexpectedly comes up or I don't know exactly how to do it & have to figure it out, etc. It doesn't help that I have zero peers to talk to...
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Re: Tell me how you get over errors/embarrassments/etc at work...
Thanks!!! So true about some of the things other people do and their lack of caring about the quality of the work- apparently there are some ppl where I work who joke about how you get paid the same if you do it mediocre or do it well so why bother to do it well, type of thing. I struggle w/ that mindset though I do understand why ppl feel that way sometimes...
Thanks also to pp- I agree, you have to learn from mistakes...I think part of my problem right now is being so new, I am constantly encountering new things and the only way to learn how to do it better next time is b/c of what doesn't go as well this time but I definitely do try to apply the lessons learned...it just feels like constant trial by error or learning by experiencing... I think I probably discount the things that are new that go well and focus on the stuff that doesnt go as well and I should focus more on the good stuff... I am a feedback soliciting type of person, so I do ask my team and my boss for feedback and ideas to do things better, I'm not averse to that, but it is usually the minor "I should have known better!" errors that get to me b/c I feel like I look stupid and really should have known better. Meanwhile ppl probably don't really care and forget about it a day later for all I know...
you were put in the new role because they think you are capable so try not to be so hard on your self! Everyone makes mistakes, as long as you take the opportunity to learn from them you are fine
You are still very new to the role so just try and take everything as a learning experience and move on and try to do an awesome job on the next project.
I say this even though I still beat myself up, but i just do my best to kick butt at what ever I am doing to fix my mistake.
Good luck!!
Happens to me all the time! I chose to be very humble and mature about my mistakes. I actually make a point to tell people about my mistakes because it's a teachable moment. I've learned so much about my job through making errors, it's just the nature of the job. I can't learn it by reading a book- I have to learn by doing. I should point out that I'm a government attorney- not like a surgeon or something
I do believe that when you make a mistake, most people are not judging you, they are simply thinking "Whew, glad that wasn't me." It's like when I was in law school and everyone hated being on the "hot seat" being drilled by the prof. No one was thinking "man, she's dumb", they were thinking "man, I'm glad it's not me" and probably not paying attention to what I'm saying. (At least, this is what I choose to believe!)
True story: recently I interviewed for a management promotion within my office. In the interview, one of the questions was a "What Would You Do In This Scenario" type of question. At first I thought it was a trick question, because the scenario was the exact scenario I had royally messed up just a few months back. But they had forgot that it was me. So I laughed and explained that the scenario was my mistake and explained how it happened, and what I did to alleviate the damage. I handled it smoothly without covering anything up. (I didn't get the promotion, but still..)
You have to accept the fact that you are new in the role and will not know it all 100% from the start. There is a learning curve for everything. Take any mistakes as learning opportunities and if people do say something (which it sounds like they don't), just remind them that you are still learning the ropes.
I took a new position with my company 3 months after coming back to work and am still learning things. I'm in charge of labor for our company (over 700 people now) and last week we were supposed to host a dinner for the apprentices. Guess who missed that on her calendar? All I could do was send out an email the day of letting everyone know that I had overlooked it with learning the new role and it would be rescheduled. It is now going to be at the end of August and I have plenty of time to get it right. There's a lot to be said for owning up to your mistakes and then working to correct them.
I make mistakes all the time. Well...maybe not ALL the time, but each time I make a mistake I immediately own up to it, and then I let it school me on how to handle the situation the next time it comes up.
Mistakes make me better at my job. It also makes me a better manager b/c it helps me accept reasonable mistakes from others as a part of a learning process for them too.
This will sound strange, but I read somewhere that the the physical act of washing your hands triggers your brain to think that what it is dwelling on is done/gone/over and it's time to move on to the next thing. After you make an error and deal with it, try getting up washing your hands, and mentally shaking it off.
A second suggestion -- when you make an error and are kicking yourself, remember the LAST error you made, and take pride in the fact that you learned from that mistake and didn't repeat it, so you will be competent to learn from this mistake as well.
No real advice to give you, but I came across this and it made me think of your post. At least you might get a good laugh:
https://cheezburger.com/7611971584