Lesson to Don t Do It Again

x MIN READ

How to Learn From Your Mistakes

... And Put Those Lessons Into Do

"A smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake once more." – Roy H. Williams (1958-), U.S. author and marketing skilful.

Recall back to the final mistake that you made at work. Even if it was a minor one, like spilling coffee on a document seconds before you were due to present it, you lot'll likely have felt a blitz of panic and then had the inconvenience of putting things right.

No one is allowed to making mistakes – we are human, later all! But if we simply apologize and carry on as before, we're in danger of repeating the same errors.

When we don't learn from our mistakes, we inflict unnecessary stress on ourselves and on others, and we run a risk losing people's conviction and trust in us. In this article, we expect at how to ensure that we accept those lessons on board, then use what we learn.

Run across the transcript for this video here.

How to Cease Repeating Mistakes

Here are 5 steps to help you to acquire from your mistakes, and to put what you observe into practice.

Note:

"Making a fault" is not the same matter as "failing." A failure is the result of a wrong action, whereas a mistake unremarkably is the wrong action. And then, when you brand a mistake, y'all can larn from it and gear up information technology, whereas you can only learn from a failure.

i. Own Your Mistakes

You can't learn anything from a mistake until you admit that you've made it. And then, take a deep breath and admit to yours, and then take buying of it. Inform those who demand to know, repent, and tell them that you're working on a solution.

Proverb "sorry" takes backbone, but it's far better to come up clean than to hide your error or, worse, to blame others for it. In the long run, people volition remember your courage and integrity long after they've forgotten the original error.

If, notwithstanding, they hear of information technology from another source, your reputation volition suffer and yous may not get some other opportunity to learn.

2. Reframe the Mistake

How yous view your mistakes determines the fashion that y'all react to them, and what you practise next.

Chances are, you'll view your error in a purely negative lite for equally long as whatsoever initial shock and discomfort virtually it persists. But, if you can reframe your fault as an opportunity to larn, you lot volition motivate yourself to go more knowledgeable and resilient.

When you've acknowledged your error, think about what you could exercise to prevent it from happening once more. For example, if you didn't follow a procedure properly, consider introducing a more robust checklist or a clearer procedure certificate.

Stop beating yourself upward, pause for a moment to reflect, and beginning thinking about how you can gain from the situation.

Tip:

Your mindset plays a significant part in how yous view your mistakes and, chiefly, in how you react to them.

If yous accept a "growth" mindset, you probable run into mistakes as an opportunity to ameliorate, and not as something that you are doomed to repeat because your mindset is "fixed" on the conventionalities that you can't meliorate.

Y'all tin can notice out how to develop a growth mindset with our article, Dweck's Fixed and Growth Mindsets.

Note:

A learning opportunity is not the same every bit an excuse for careless behavior!

Rather, albeit to your mistakes and showing that you accept learned from them can aid others to empathize that making mistakes is OK. That is, equally long every bit you act intelligently, in good religion, and keep your take a chance-taking inside agreed boundaries.

Model this arroyo to encourage your people to take responsible risks, and to exist more creative.

iii. Clarify Your Mistake

Next, you need to analyze your mistake honestly and objectively. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What was I trying to exercise?
• What went wrong?
• When did it go wrong?
• Why did it become wrong?

Our commodity, v Whys, describes a straightforward yet powerful tool for identifying the causes of uncomplicated or moderately difficult bug. To use it, start with the error and proceed asking "Why?" until you become to the root cause.

For complex or more than critical issues, a more in-depth tool, such as Causal Factor Charting, may be more appropriate.

Conducting this "postmortem" should reveal what led to the mistake, and highlight what needs to change in gild to avert a repeat.

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4. Put Lessons Learned Into Practice

The danger at this stage is that work pressures force you lot back to your routine tasks and habitual behaviors. The lessons that you identified in Step 3 could languish, unfulfilled, every bit mere adept intentions. In other words, learning lessons is one thing, but putting them into exercise is quite another!

Chances are, acting on what you've learned will crave the discipline and motivation to change your habits, or to change the way that your team works. Doing so volition help you to avoid cocky-sabotage in the future, and will allow you to reap the rewards and benefits of implementing meliorate piece of work practices.

Here, you need to identify the skills, knowledge, resources, or tools that will keep you from repeating the error.

Practise so with intendance, though, considering "quick fixes" will probable pb to further mistakes. Any deportment that y'all accept to implement your learning need to be indelible, and something that you can commit to.

If your mistake was a small-scale or a personal one, personal goals and action plans will lay the background for implementing the lessons yous've learned. They can give you a timescale to work to, and a listing of the tasks that you'll need to complete.

The specific tools that you employ from in that location on will depend on the item lessons that you need to put into practice.

For example, if you learned that a mistake occurred because of your forgetfulness, aides-mémoire or greater attention to detail could assist. If you found that your organizational skills were below par, digital planners and spreadsheets would be useful.

Or, if you discovered that an error occurred because of a cross-cultural misunderstanding, your communication skills might need a smoothen.

If the mistake was more organizational than personal, y'all may need to implement your learning in a more far-reaching manner. Writing clearer procedures, for example, could help to ensure that more gets done without mistakes.

Understanding Zenger and Folkman's x Fatal Leadership Flaws could assistance to tackle errors from the top. In fact, not learning from mistakes is ane of the 10 flaws, and providing clear and specific feedback is ane fashion to counter this flaw.

And, if you learned that your new production wasn't distinctive enough to exist successful, you may need to revisit your whole strategy.

Tip 1:

Learning from mistakes, and putting that learning into practice, involves change. If that alter will impact other people, the ADKAR Change Management Model could help you lot to get them "on board" – and to keep them at that place.

Tip ii:

Don't be agape to ask colleagues or your director for assistance if you're unsure which tactic or tool will exist the most effective in preventing further mistakes.

Involving other people is a slap-up manner to make them feel invested – and it can exist particularly of import when mistakes are fabricated at a team or organizational level. So, foster an environment where people feel comfy about expressing their ideas.

5. Review Your Progress

You lot may have to try out several means to put your learning into do earlier you find one that successfully prevents y'all from repeating past errors. The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle is a great tool for pinpointing the near effective solutions.

From at that place, monitor the efficacy of your chosen tactic by reviewing the number and nature of mistakes that do – or don't! – all the same get made. Request someone to hold y'all accountable can help you to stay committed to your new form of action.

Central Points

To err is man, and nosotros don't accept to punish ourselves for the mistakes that we brand. They can be great opportunities to learn, and to develop on a personal, as well as an organizational, level. Nosotros but need to learn from them, and to put that learning into practice.

When you lot, or i of your team members, make a mistake:

• Ain up to it. Don't play the "blame game." This is detrimental in the long run, and you'll lose the potential for learning.
• Reframe your mistake every bit an opportunity to learn and develop.
• Review what went incorrect, to understand and learn from your error.
• Identify the skills, noesis, resources, or tools that will go along y'all from repeating the error.
• Review your progress.

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Source: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/learn-from-mistakes.htm

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