6 Steps to Fix Any Professional Mistake

1. Remain Calm

Your first step is also the most important: Remain calm. When you make a mistake, especially a big one, your first response might be to panic, or start trying to fix things in a frenzy. However, letting your emotions take over is one of the worst things you can do. Take deep breaths, count to 10, and remind yourself that very few mistakes are irreversible. Think through the situation logically and calmly, and deal with your underlings and superiors in a collected, composed manner. It will help you find more logical solutions, and make you appear more in control of the situation.

2. Assess the Damage

Now that you've calmed yourself down, take a minute to analyze the situation and see how much damage has actually been done. Depending on the context of your mistake, this could take a few minutes or a few hours. Try to think about the present moment as well as any ramifications this might have in the coming weeks. How is production affected? How is your brand's reputation affected? How are customers affected? How are your colleagues affected? Arm yourself with as much information as possible before taking your recovery any further.

3. Prevent Any Further Damage From Occurring

Some mistakes are made once and carry no further damage, but most mistakes continue to carry negative effects until they are addressed. For example, a flaw in production could lead to more runs of products featuring defects, or a botched social media post could continue to be seen by more and more people. Get ahead of the future effects by stopping the bleeding. Don't worry about reversing the effects right now; instead, focus on preventing any more effects from compounding.

4. Admit to the Mistake and Explain the Situation

Once you've prevented any further damage from accumulating, take your mistake to your supervisors and the other parties invested in the situation. Admit to your part in the mistake up front, and be honest. It's far better to be straightforward with your mistakes than to try and cover them up. Explain the situation as thoroughly as possible, and let everyone know what you plan to do to recover. It's also important to apologize and show that you regret the situation.

5. Accept Responsibility

Once everyone affected by the situation has been informed, it's your job to accept responsibility for making things right. As a first line of action, start healing the damage that was caused (if possible)--post an apology on social media, broker a new deal with your vendors, give your customers a heads-up--do whatever is necessary is to preserve the company's reputation and minimize the effects to its bottom line. Beyond that, own up to the mistake, and let it be known that you're prepared to face the repercussions. It shows integrity and a personal investment in your work.

6. Prevent the Mistake From Recurring

Your last step is to take measures that ensure your mistake isn't repeated--by you or by anyone else. This starts with a root-cause analysis; determine the main factors responsible for making this situation arise in the first place. Is it possible to eliminate these factors altogether? If not, what steps can you take to improve awareness of these factors, and how can you improve your operations to prevent or mitigate these factors as much as possible? Making procedural changes, implementing new rules, and increasing awareness are fantastic tools in almost any recovery situation.

SOURCE:inc.com