Friday, June 8, 2012

Five Ways To Go Beyond a ‘Disaster’ at Work


To err is human...’ The famous words are easier said than applied in the corporate world, where a glaring error in a project or an assignment could bring all your plans to naught. Anumeha Chaturvedi explains what can put you back on track. 


Boost your Self-Image “Failure of any kind hurts us, creates defensiveness and often lowers our self-worth. We all have a self-identity, which if simple, gets threatened,” says Anil Sharma, founder, Leadedge. This could reflect in assumptions that one is competent or incompetent, or trustworthy or untrustworthy. “We need to understand our identity issue and build a stronger self-image,” says Sharma.

 Accept the Mistake While accepting an error is embarrassing, it is critical for gaining lost ground, says Mohinish Sinha, leadership & talent practice leader, Hay Group South & South East Asia, Pacific & Africa. “Some of the finest leaders I know admit to making stupid mistakes,” he says. 

Draw Lessons Bright minds turn a mistake into an opportunity. Sinha recalls an IT professional who miscalculated a significant projection that cost the company Rs 30 crore. But instead of continuing to feel guilty, he made a 30-minute presentation to his supervisors on what he learnt from it. 

Take Feedback “Communicating with your stakeholders who were impacted by your failure and taking feedback from them will help portray your sense of ownership, learning agenda and willingness to change,” says Sharma. 

Seek Inspiration Sinha suggests that seeking a mentor — a trustworthy superior — and engaging with him or her on a daily basis could prove to be useful for sharing honest feedback and thoughts. Finding a mentor who gives objective feedback will help in developing with day-to-day matters and prevent a flub.


(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 07-06-2012)

No comments:

Post a Comment