We've all been there: working on some project when something goes terribly wrong. A forgotten task, a missed deadline, a technological malfunction -- these things happen. And they might happen because someone screwed up. Unfortunately, the current environment in most workplaces is one where the best way to deal with a problem is to cover it up. Deny, deny, deny. Or, even better, see if you can blame someone else.
It's difficult to apologize at work. You are, after all, a professional. The problem is that when no one takes responsibility, the problems often start to multiply. Let's say you forgot to review a key document. You were sent the email but you got it the Friday before a long weekend and by the time you were back at work, that important task has completely slipped your mind. Fast forward to about a week or so later when the original sender sends you a gentle (or not-so-gentle) reminder that you are late with this and that it's completely holding up other people on the project.
There are many ways to handle this: pretend you never got the email; fuss and fume that you are so busy that you couldn't possibly be expected to jump when they ask; ignore the request altogether; blame the sender for not being clear on the request. Turn it into some big deal. Or you can just apologize and do what you can to fix it as soon as possible.
I know a lot of this has to do with your boss or your team. If you have a boss who likes to point fingers and find scapegoats, it's kind of hard to be the one that says, "yeah, it was totally me." However, I would like to think that if you take responsibility, then actually fix it, in the end, you'll be alright.
Sometimes just saying you're sorry lets everyone move on and take care of the problem. Isn't that a better way to go?
No comments:
Post a Comment