"You learn from your mistakes", "You'll do it differently next time", "Cheer up, it was only a trial", these are things we say to a small child when they've messed up. Why is that? We want to encourage the child. We want to convey that it's okay to make mistakes and that we can learn from them. We communicate that it is okay to try different ways until you find your own way. Communicate that there are different approaches to reach your goal. That's how we are "knitted" as humans. Everyone is different. And that's a good thing. But where and when does "being understanding" get lost?
Show understanding, even for an adult.
Especially in the working world, and increasingly in German-speaking countries, a mistake is often a huge problem. A mistake can "haunt" you for months, e.g. by being "dug up" again and again by certain people at meetings. What happens to an employee when a mistake is constantly rehashed?
- The employee is insecure.
- Uncertainty demotivates you and makes you doubt.
- Doubts about yourself, the process or other people lead to new mistakes, often more than once.
- Or the employee feels permanently uncomfortable, not understood or annoyed, and resigns.
None of these are opportunities that have a positive impact on teamwork, efficiency or the learning process.
The error culture in German-speaking countries.
Our urge to find the mistake or find the person who made the mistake is more pronounced in German-speaking countries than in other countries. But what if we see a mistake as potential for improving a process? The world was not circumnavigated on the first attempt with a sailing boat and there are always newer versions with improved technology and innovations for our technical devices such as laptops, cell phones or tablets.
We humans are in a constant process, no matter what area of life, no matter what age, no matter what cultural background, gender or religion. No one has ever "finished learning".
Dealing with errors
"Holding grudges doesn't help anyone." This sentence is widely used in systemic coaching. Translated, it means that "holding grudges" does not bring you or the other person any joy. "Holding grudges" can push you into deep depression, despair or dwindling self-confidence. Stomping on the other person's mistakes doesn't help the other person either. In most cases, this person did not make the mistake on purpose, but the other person sees the situation differently. The employee has received too little training, is currently under a lot of stress or is in poor health. Therefore ...
First ask where the error is coming from ...
... and what can we do better next time?
Errors are there to optimize processes, make services more efficient or take the pressure off employees.
See mistakes as an opportunity ... as a chance to talk to your employee about potential for improvement. But what is most important?
- Take your employees seriously.
- Be understanding, correct and fair.
- Try to put yourself in your employee's shoes and define a goal or suggestion for improvement together.
If you have any questions about dealing with errors, a healthy error culture and how you can live and implement positive change in your company, please contact me.
Sincerely
Kathrin Fuchs _ goldWERT