What To Do When You Screw Up At Work

I know, I know, you're a shiny happy employee who gets in before everyone else, goes home after everyone else, and gets shit done in between. But even Mary Poppins has an off day. What do you do when you screw something up?

I did that today. Or rather, I did that a while ago, and only realized it today. It's not a screw up that's my fault, fundamentally, but it's one that if I had been asking the right questions of the right people at the right time (instead of the right questions of the wrong people at the wrong time) would have been caught a lot earlier. So I am the one taking the brunt of it at work, at least in terms of righting the ship. On the up side, it's been a while since I've done something that made me feel totally stupid, so that's... good-ish. Go team competence. But it also means I needed a refresher course in what to do when I screw up at work.

Step 1: Does it really matter?
The first thing you've got to do is assess the importance of your screw up. And honestly, it's probably doesn't matter that much. Lots of things feel embarassing when you're the one who screwed up, but if someone else had done the same thing you might not even notice. If you circulate a memo that uses the wrong form of "their" the grammar fascists (me included) will think less of you for a brief moment, but we're petty. It won't make your memo unintelligible. If your screwup falls into this category, learn your lesson and let it go. Don't go to the rest of the steps, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. You'll only draw attention to your mistake and annoy your coworkers with your drama.

But even if your screwup matters it's still important to get a sense of the magnitude. Maybe it matters, but not in a life-or-death sense. For example, maybe your project can go forward, but only on a slightly delayed schedule, or only after you call in some favors to keep the schedule on track (this is where you want to have a well-stocked Pay It Forward bank account from which you can readily make withdrawals). In a case like this, you may be able to fix it without anyone else--at least not the boss--having to know. On the other hand, maybe you screwed up. Like, real bad. Lose the case, piss off the client, and crash the company car type of bad. OK, have you taken honest stock of just where your screwup falls on the Seriousness Scale? Good for you, it's not easy.

Step 2: How can this get fixed?
Think creatively about this. Is there something you can do to make it better? Someone whose assistance you can ask? If you are going to be unable to meet a deadline, can you rush a step down the line to make up the time? Whatever it is, figure out what the course of action is that can mitigate whatever screwup has just occurred, and figure out how you fit into it.

Step 3: Own up to it.
If something's really wrong, don't pretend like nothing is wrong. Get it out there. Usually at this point it will mean talking to a supervisor. State what the problem is as objectively as you can, apologize if appropriate, and then say what you're going to do to fix it. Prepare to have people be less than happy with you. This is not the end of the world. It looks a lot like being human and therefore fallible.

Step 4: Be sensitive to psychology (and not just your own).
Who are you breaking the news to, and what do they need from you in order to deal with it in a quasi-professional way? Insofar as you can without damaging your own psyche, try to give it to them. Remember, no one is at their best when they are receiving bad news. In my case, my supervisor needed to get snappy at me to vent some steam before deciding that I was handling the situation pretty well. That's his modus operandi. It's not my favorite part of the job, but it's not actually that bad (or that frequent, thankfully). I know I'm doing the best I can with a crappy situation, and it's up to him to react however he chooses to react.* In the larger scheme of things, those are his issues to deal with and not mine. He can vent if he needs to vent, that need doesn't reflect on me.

Step 5: Fix it as best you can Remember Step 2? Do whatever it is you decided to do there. Then take yourself out for a beer.

Everyone screws up. Everyone. Not everyone fixes their screw ups well. In my observation ,if you're generally conscientious and competent, and you deal with it responsibly on those few occasions when you do screw up, that is what people will remember about you. And if you deal with it poorly that is what people will remember about you. In neither event will their memory of the screw up be nearly as clear as their memory of how you handled it.** Developing this skill is maybe the most important thing I can think of in terms of building a good professional reputation.

Me, I'm in the middle of Step 5, and I will be for a couple of days. See you on the flip side.

* That realization is huge, and comes in handy in more areas of my life than just this one.

**Except in politics, where everyone has videocameras and blogs. Goddamn those bloggers, they can make everyone look like an idiot. But if you want to go into politics, you are reading the wrong corner of the internet. In a few years time, just knowing this website exists will be enough to get labeled a pinko.