Accepting mistakes can sometimes be difficult because no one wants to admit failure. However, mishaps happen anytime, anywhere. Far too often, however, they are covered up. A positive error culture is essential for personal and business success. We give tips on how to deal cleverly with errors.
1. Acknowledge that mistakes are part of human activity.
No one makes mistakes on purpose; they happen. It is, therefore, right to investigate the causes and not denounce the guilty. But exactly the opposite occurs in reality. Studies show that most people cannot stand mistakes because they mistakenly believe that mistakes are evidence of stupidity,” writes Pulitzer Prize-winning author Joseph Hallinan in his book “Lechts or rinks: Why we make mistakes.” As a result, people keep silent, cover-up, and blame others. Time is lost in identifying the actual problems and preventing chains of errors from occurring in the first place.
2. Apologize correctly.
It is difficult for many to say, “Sorry, that was my mistake.” An apology can instead earn respect and strengthen one’s own position. But an apology has to be learned. Researchers from Ohio State University in the USA have developed a 6-point plan for the perfect excuse based on studies. It consists of the elements such as regret, explaining, admitting, showing responsibility, offering reparation, and asking for forgiveness. However, the components are not equivalent. According to the researchers, the most important element is admitting guilt.
3. Address mishaps early and consistently.
In this way, you avoid the perpetrator struggling with self-reproach and the fear of exposure turning the working day into an ordeal. Uncovering the mishap, addressing the personal misstep, contrary to expectations, people cope well. Daniel Gilbert coined the metaphor “psychological immune system” for this characteristic. The Harvard psychologist proved that our brain uses defense strategies in the event of a crisis. The level of happiness usually returns to the starting level after a certain period of time after defeat.
4. Don’t think long and hard about your own mistakes and the failures of others.
According to experts, constant brooding and questioning are of little help. Psychologist Andrea Abele-Brehm from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg explains that the secret of stand-up males is that they can turn off negative thoughts more quickly. According to Steve Ayan, constant self-awareness even promotes failure, fears, and restlessness.
5. Treat mistakes rather mischievously.
Cheerful humor such as jokes, satire, or irony makes it easier to talk about mistakes. Humor takes away employee’s inhibitions about making mistakes – because the boss occasionally “shoots” and can smile about it. When used correctly, humor helps to reinterpret negative experiences and to reconcile with errors.
6. Avoid so-called hindsight errors.
Because it is precisely these that are responsible for the fact that we often commit a mistake several times, to explain: People have the habit of distorting their own errors and mistakes when looking back. So we conjure up a glossed-over image in memory. And that makes mistakes repeat. For example, experts advise to keep minutes of essential decisions and write down the advantages and disadvantages. In retrospect, what happened can be assessed more realistically.
7. Find errors and analyze what could have arisen.
This step goes further than the typical behavior of wanting to learn from a lapse. Because the questions of what went wrong and what can we do better deny the actual potential for error. Errors, mistakes, and mishaps reveal exciting options and lead to creative variants that cannot be planned. You can justify this procedure with ingenious inventions: the microwave, the antibiotic penicillin, the plastic Teflon, the sticky notes Post-it, the popsicle, or even the potato chips were discovered purely by chance.
8. After completing a project, make a list of the mistakes that have been made.
First of all, it is not about doing a systematic analysis but instead dealing with errors in general and talking about them with others. Realizing that projects and processes consist of many major and minor mistakes is an indispensable lesson. As a result, an organization can gradually establish a positive error culture that directly impacts quality standards, productivity, innovation potential, and competitiveness.
9. Admit mistakes.
Those who admit they did something wrong are well on their way to learning. But self-tearing is just as bad in this situation as self-protection solutions – such as blaming others or making circumstances liable. Anyone who makes a mistake has to be clear: “That wasn’t so good, but you are not a failure.” The fact is: Errors can empower but also fuel deep self-doubt. And complexes encourage mistakes.
10. Be relaxed when you make mistakes.
This is easy to say when customers are angry, the business is lost, and the boss is raging. But the claim to act flawlessly is unrealistic anyway. According to experts, perfectionists, control fanatics, or pathologically ambitious people do more wrong than those who tend to deal with weaknesses in a relaxed manner. Constant anger after a failure is also harmful. Studies by the University of Vienna in 2014 show that those who frequently have to accept negative error feedback are less likely to develop new ideas.