When You Mess Up at Work - The Do's and Don't's of Apologizing
Someone asked me, “how do I apologize when I messed up at work?” and whew…
That is so hard. Messing up at work is tough. It stops you in your tracks and it makes you ruminate on the mistake all. day. long. Your heart drops into your stomach, your blood rushes to your head, and you immediately wish you could take it back.
Three years ago I started a brand new job at a brand new company and I was freshly 4 months postpartum (4 month sleep regression anyone???) and I sent a mass email to 300 WRONG PEOPLE. Face to palm. (don’t email sleep deprived people).
And the error was promptly responded with an email from a general manager saying “why did I get this email?”
Heart. Drop.
Uh…. sorry sir didn’t mean to!!
But instead of being overly apologetic (because let’s be honest, it’s just an email), I utilized the tools in my communication toolbox to remedy the mistake both internally with my manager and externally with the clients who received the mistaken email. Because mistakes don't bother me as much anymore because I know I have the communication tools to be able to communicate my way out of (most) sticky situations.
Here’s how to apologize when you make a mistake at work -
DO humanize it - we all make mistakes and we shouldn’t let our ego stand in the way of acknowledging the mistake
DON’T be overly apologetic - it will undermine your credibility
DO infuse your own personality and communication style when responding to the mistake
DO reflect on the mistake
DO explain how the mistake happened
DON’T confuse the explanation as an excuse
DO come prepared with a solution moving forward
DO communicate with transparency
It can look as simple as something like this,
"Hey xx, That's on me. Nothing worse than an unnecessary email in your inbox. But when I have an adequate amount of sleep and coffee in me you can assure this won’t happen again!”
Or it can be as detailed as this,
“Hey boss, In the essence of transparency, I am calling attention to the error I made on ABC. I realized this happened because [insert reason here].
I know this is unacceptable and here is how I am remedying the situation moving forward. I am going to…
With this new process in place, it will ensure this will not happen again and I thank you for your understanding and your support.”
Once the initial wave of dread subsidies after the mistake is made, lean on your communication toolbox to help you effectively apologize and remedy the situation moving forward.
Mistakes at work are ok. Apologizing for mistakes is ok too. I hope these tips and templates are helpful for you the next time you happen to mess up at work.
