Have you ever made a mistake? Most of us (if not all) make them. And we’ll continue to make them.
In this post, GenuLines looks at ways to react to other people’s mistakes.
Dealing With Mistakes That Other People Make
Sometimes people make mistakes that will put you in a tough spot. Let’s say, for instance, you own a company. One of your workers mistakenly misrepresented the company and you’re getting blamed. Your first reaction may be to fire the person.
In some cases, that would be the right move.
But did the person have the necessary knowledge to keep from misinforming others? If not, you need to bake that into the situation.
If the misstep was deliberate, that’s different.
In this case, you’re within your rights to let them go. But be sure the action was malicious.
There are no easy answers when people make major mistakes. They may not be able to make it right, either.
You’ll be left to deal with the consequences.
It’s easy to lash out at the person responsible. Of course, you should give them the opportunity to rectify it if they can.
One way to deal with other people’s mistakes is to reflect on your own mistakes. This way, you can empathize with them.
Empathy makes you less likely to lash out and make the wrong decisions.
Then there are situations where people make the same mistakes again and again. The errors keep showing up even when you give guidance on how not to make them.
This is a tough one.
The actions are not malicious but there’s no capacity to change. In these situations, you need to decide whether the mistakes are having a serious impact.
Repeated errors add up. But remember, forgiving mistakes can breed appreciation.
It can help people grow.
And you’ll feel good knowing they’ve used the situation to their advantage.
JohnK 3-26-2019
Overheard: “We must not say every mistake is a foolish one” ~Cicero (106 BC – 43 BC)
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