How many times have you made a mistake at work only to find yourself blaming it in someone or something else? It probably happens more than you think.
You arrive at work late so you blame it on traffic even though you know the route you take is bumper to bumper.
You miss your project deadline because you procrastinated and find yourself on the long walk to your boss’s office trying to explain why you aren’t prepared.
Its easier to put blame on surrounding circumstances then to accept that you may have contributed to the problem at hand.
The key to avoid unwanted confrontations with your boss is to step back and look at what could have been done differently.
Here are four pieces of advice to help you to avoid mishaps in the future:
THINK ABOUT CONSEQUENCES
If you know you’ve been late due to traffic, leave earlier or find an alternate route.
ADMIT YOUR MISTAKE
If you get called to your boss’s office due to a missed deadline, admit it and figure out how to avoid that in the future.
LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKE
If you truly are at fault, learn from it and consider it a lesson learned.
MOVE ON
The mistake has been made, you admitted fault and you move on.
You will find that when you’re able to admit your mistakes, they become farther apart and its easier to accept responsibility for your actions.
Deborah Tyler is part of the GovLoop Featured Blogger program, where we feature blog posts by government voices from all across the country (and world!). To see more Featured Blogger posts, click here.
Great post Deborah! It’s so easy to place blame on outside factors rather than accepting responsibility for our own internal flaws. Accepting responsibillity presents an opportunity to examine our faults and improve on them, which can really help avoid problems and stress in the future.
Thank you Olivia :}
I love the move on part- sometimes I dwell on past mistakes, which makes me forget about my current tasks then I end up repeating mistakes. So helpful!
That’s one of the hardest things to do .. forgive yourself and move forward :}
Awesome post! I think it is so easy to be the one to point the finger at someone or something else. Taking responsibility can help people overcome mistakes and prevent them from happening again. Great tips, very helpful!