 Mistakes
were made. We've heard that before - many times. The phrase first made famous
by the Nixon administration was later used and re-used by many politicians -
Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, to name a few. People generally aren't fond of
admitting their mistakes. I'm not. Businesses are the same. They don't like to
talk about their mistakes certainly not publicly - but not even within company
walls. How mistakes are handled within a business says a lot about the people
who lead that organization. Are mistakes seen as something to hide, deflect or
feel ashamed of? Like them or not, mistakes are
inevitable - even the hardest working,
most competent employees will make them. So what's a company to do? It's
impossible to predict all the possible mistakes that can occur and be prepared
for them. I've found that one company's
approach to mistakes is particularly effective. The sales team of this company
had a conference call weekly, which included time to discuss "teachable
moments.'' Typically one or two sales agents volunteered to discuss a mistake
and what they learned from it. Discussing the mistake openly eases the stigma
that often comes with making a mistake and offers valuable advice to other
employees, ideally empowering them to avoid the same error. This is not a common approach. More
often, employees and managers find ways to hide mistakes or put the blame on
someone else. Why? People are fearful of the consequences of their mishaps -
they could be costly, like a math error, or if the mistake goes public, the
company's image could be hurt - and that too has a cost. Within a company, a boss who accepts
that his or her employees will occasionally make mistakes and has a measured
response when they do is a boss people want to work for. That's smart
management because that might encourage a staff to be more open about its
mistakes and to view them as something to learn from versus something to hide
or be ashamed of. Underlying this approach to mistakes is humility, the belief
that I'm not perfect - nor is my staff, nor is the company as a whole.
Humility, a quality the corporate world doesn't talk much about - unlike productivity or competitiveness. Humility seems more a topic for the pulpit. But there
is a tie between humility and productivity. Humility can significantly help the
morale of an organization. It can foster better rapport between managers and
employees, between employees and customers. Not all mistakes are equal, of course.
Some are the result of negligence and should be handled accordingly. I'm not
saying let's just make mistakes, forgive and forget. Instead, use the mistakes
to learn and make procedures better so they don't happen as often. Errors can
cost a company, but they're also an inevitable part of being human. A company
that operates in atmosphere of humility, respect and honesty allows its
employees to excel at their jobs without the paralyzing fear of making
mistakes, and often the result is that fewer errors occur.  |
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