Monday, November 06, 2006
As It Turns Out, I'm Not Perfect.
I made a mistake at work tonight. It wasn't a little, "Oops! I spelled Saskatchewan wrong." mistake either. The consequences of my mistake could have put several of us into a very delicate situation. Fortunately, someone at another agency also made a mistake (I'm being generous there because it was more of a deliberate act of sloth). I was forced to take action in response to their mistake, and that action rendered the consequences of my mistake to be void, or at least significantly diminished. In the end I was very fortunate, but not off of the hot seat. I hate to make mistakes. They make me very angry with my self, and I wish that I could pretend that they never happened. At the same time I have a personal policy of always owning my mistakes. I think its what a person of integrity and faith does and I also think that it makes me a more trustworthy person. I have a coworker who never owns any mistakes and the result is that no one believes a word he says. So back to tonight, in the end I could have let things go. Several people knew that something had happened, but if I told them not to worry about it they wouldn't ask any questions, and I love them for that. Because I love them I told them the truth, and they were incredibly gracious about it. They were actually more upset about the deliberate act of sloth (sorry, "mistake") that followed. Somehow though I didn't feel any better. Tonight was a close as I get to "big time screw up," and although no perceived damage was done, I felt damaged. I pride myself on speed and accuracy, and I failed on both counts. That really bothered me. Thankfully I had the time to retreat into a good book for a bit before I had to get back into things. That helped. I eventually blew off a post-work social event (and it was a good one) and went home. For the rest of the night I felt as if my credibility had been ruined and I just wanted to get out of there. Anyway, I suppose I will feel better in the morning and I will get a fresh shot at making a mess of things then. For now I'm headed back into that good book.
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2 comments:
Well, we all make mistakes. We don't like it, but it happens. I've found that the best way to deal with it is to take responsibility, work as hard as you can to mitigate any negative consequences and then learn whatever you can from the experience so it doesn't happen again. There's no use getting bogged down by the fact that you made a mistake. Remember the lesson, but don't dwell on the mistake. I've learned this the hard way.
In my experience, people tend to remember your mistakes, but they tend to remember how you responded to it as well.
All of that said, it's not always easy to move on, especially in the case of a serious mistake. Or even one that didn't turn out badly, but could potentially have been serious. It is important to move on though. Life goes on and more mistakes will happen. Constantly carrying the baggage of past mistakes is not a good way to prepare for the next one.
Knowing you, I have no doubt that you'll learn treat this as a learning experience. That fact alone makes me glad that it’s you sitting behind that desk.
Thanks Rich!
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