I have a confession to make…yesterday I made a mistake. Yep, there I said it. I made a mistake. It wasn’t a big one or massively important in the grand scheme of things but it was embarrassing as it was picked up by a Head of Service (who was very nice about it I’d like to add) and I was annoyed at myself for not seeing it sooner. I spoke to the Head of Service, apologised & outlined what I was going to do to rectify the situation. She smiled, said that would be great and thanked me. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking - I was surprised she thanked me too but she did and I realised that she probably was thanking me for a) admitting to my mistake and b) taking responsibility for resolving it.
So this got me thinking about the nature of mistakes, particularly about mistakes in the work environment. How do you deal with them personally? And how does your company as a whole deal with and respond to them?
I find that all too often people are either too scared to try something new as they are in fear of failure or they won’t own up when they have made a mistake & there’s definitely a blame culture of “it’s not my fault, so-n-so did this, blah blah blah”.
I say to those people - man up! You’ve made a mistake? Good. What have you learned from it? What will you do differently next time? Making mistakes is all part of life; they teach us things so we can do it better next time.
I read a wonderful article about a CEO who created a “Failure Wall” in his office where employees were encouraged to write on the wall when they had made a mistake and write what the mistake was, what they’d learned from it and to put their name next to it. The idea was to create a culture in which failure was ok and people took responsibility for it but most importantly learned from their mistakes. The end of the article made me smile - over time the ink faded and with it so did the mistakes, so new mistakes were written over the top of them and so the cycle continued. I think that nicely represents the temporary nature of a mistake, eventually it will 'disappear' and you move on from it.
So this is what I’m proposing to use this blog for. Let’s use this as our own Failure Wall, they can be personal or professional, funny or shocking - I could do with a laugh so some humorous ones would be good! Let’s share our learning because we all know that “a smart man makes a mistake, learns from it and never makes it again. But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake all together”.
Jill ‘I’ve made mistakes in my life’ Tansey
Comments
Thanks for this Mike :)
Plenty there to think about. Totally agree about being the change you want to see and leading others by setting a good example through your own actions and words. Unfortunately it's usually the negative people that seem to shout the loudest, "negative noise" can be really difficult to ignore & shut out even for the most positive people amongst us. But it is doable. It's all about your Circles of Influence - what is within my control, what is outside of my control? What can i influence, what can't i influence?
I've discovered recently that being true to yourself & not compromising your core values is essential to not only the work environment but to your own sanity.
I shall check out the culture video as our "culture" is undergoing massive changes at the moment so it's definitely timely thinking about this.
"You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of."
Lots to go at here...
For me this is about self-leadership & accountability. Far too many organisations bury their head in the sand when it comes to setting expectations and having difficult conversations...why....because they're are difficult.
I absolutely believe there needs to be synergy between the brands culture & values and the leaders, managers and employees who work there. There is a great video about culture called the "smell of the place"
I think this sums up culture really quickly and we are all responsible for creating a feeling or a 'smell' and what it feels like to work 'here' comes from the environment and it's people
How do we change the culture? You start with the things that create the culture, primarily environment and people. Yes it takes time but.....small steps......
One conversation at a time and through our actions - Ghandi said "Be the change you would like to see" and it's easy saying this and even thinking about it but think hard about it's message and it is so true. You can be the catalyst for change through what you say and what you do, and as a wise person once said
Hi Mike
Thanks for the reply :)
I suppose the next question would be how do we change the culture if you're in Organisation Type 1? And how do you change people's attitudes in Organisation Type 2 if they prefer a more Type 1 approach? It's a tough one but both management & employees have a role to play in it. Being responsible & accountable is the key to learning from your mistakes/errors.
Totally agree that what is certain is that we'll all make more mistakes in the future!
Jill
PS i feel bad for your mate, i hope he recovered alright & has just about forgiven you!
Very brave Jill thanks for sharing :-)
It takes a big man/woman to admit he/she is wrong but I also loved the way Albert Einstein put it
That's what makes us human, the ability to try new things and learn from what makes us successful but also where we can improve. I've worked in a climate of fear before where every move is scrutinised and I've been micro-managed. When mistakes ARE made and they ARE made as it's what makes us human there are 2 different types of organisations (OK so these are extreme examples to make the point)
1) Organisations (sorry individuals) that point the finger and look to 'blame' others. It wasn't me, it wasn't my fault, I wasn't given the correct information etc etc blah blah blah - there in creating a culture of back stabbers, fear and control (as no-one wants to make a mistake) and there will be a lack of trust across the organisation. Tends to be Parent / Child conversation - management / leadership would be quite command and control.
2) Organisations (sorry individuals) who welcome mistakes, errors or whatever you want to call them and see them an an opportunity to improve what they do and how they do it as an individual, team, division or at a procedure level. Conversations will be Adult to Adult and management / leadership will be more towards engage, nurture and trust as oppose the previous.
Individuals within these organisations will dictate the culture within this organisations and this will be reinforced / underpinned by the management / leadership in that business.
I've made plenty.......I've learned from them and they've made me the person I am now....I will make more mistakes I am more certain of that than anything else.....it's how I learn and grow as a person.
One mistake I will share is when I was a youngster and my mate was on a rope swing I decided to push him even though he said he hadn't got a good grip. My mate then proceeded to fall and snapped his wrist in 3 places and had to have his arm in cast for 6 months and intense physio for another 3 months.
Lesson learned.....however I still love pushing people - just not on a rope swing ;)
Mike