7 Things to Do When You Mess Up

In life and leadership, mistakes are bound to happen. There’s pretty much nothing we can do about it. How we handle those mistakes, however, determines the difference between a great leader or just a good one. So here are 7 things to do when we mess up.

1. Don’t bury it. When we make mistakes, our natural inclination is to cover it up. We don’t tell people about it. We try to control the outcome. Inevitably this fails, and causes far more harm than if we had just confessed at the beginning.
2. Don’t blame others. This one is really easy to fall for. Even if it’s not your fault, if you are leading others throwing them under the bus won’t help you in the long run. The person who made the mistake still needs to be confronted, but that interaction will go much better if accept the responsibility as the leader.
3. Don’t beat yourself up. I’m so guilty of this one. I hate to fail and can feel bad for days after a mistake. Hold onto the truth that you’re human and mistakes are bound to happen. Your job is to find out what happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
4. Do admit. The first step to healing is to admit you have a problem. Even more so as the leader because nine times out of ten everyone else you lead already knows all about it. Admitting your mistake will be difficult, but the sooner you do it, the lesser the repercussions.
5. Do ask and accept forgiveness. If you messed up, you need to ask for forgiveness. Even if the other person doesn’t want to give it, it is your responsibility to ask. Once forgiveness is given, accept it. There is no reason to keep bringing back up and explaining. You’ll just be moving backward.
6. Do forgive yourself. Sometimes, your biggest critic is yourself. Forgiving yourself for your mistakes allows for healing and the ability to learn from the situation.
7. Do focus on your future. Just because you made a mistake doesn’t mean it’s all over. Most of the time you can move forward and if you followed these steps, irreparable damage most likely wasn’t done. The best thing to do is look ahead and move on. You and those you lead will be grateful that it’s all behind them.

Making a mistake doesn’t have to be the end of the story. In fact it is just the beginning. The more we can learn from our mistakes the better leaders and people we will be.