Making Mistakes is a part of life.
We have all made them in the past. We make them in the present. And, we will make them in the future.
The question is ‘how do I overcome them?’ And, ‘how can I avoid making the same one again?’
Forgive yourself first. You are human and people make mistakes…All. The. Time. The key is thinking about it logically and not emotionally. I can sit here and I say that I don’t relive or think about all of the ‘could haves’ or ‘would haves’, but I would be lying. I do think about mistakes that I have made, but I try very hard not to dwell on it too much. I allow myself one night, just one night to dwell in self-pity and then I think about what could I have done to avoid the mistake? I write down my own missteps and what I will do differently next time. Tomorrow is a new day and new opportunity to learn from those mistakes.
After that, do a debrief with others and asked ‘how could that have been avoided?’ ‘What could I have done differently?’. Listen objectively, remove the emotion and listen with a mind open to learning. Having different perspectives or view points is very helpful to understanding impact – impact on the meeting, on the person or on the event.
Take what you learned from others and put them into motion. Create your own action plan to ensure you take all of the feedback and suggestions for the future. Use those suggestions and apply to your next opportunity.
Inclusive Leader tip: Leaders, people on your team will make mistakes. Rather than blaming them, ensure that you are there to support their growth. Ask them what they think they could have done differently, include them in your feedback and coach them as they move forward.
Making mistakes is a part of life – we all do it and we will all do them in the future. The key is learning from them and overcoming them!
