On-the-Job Blunders

A friend called me last week in a panic. “I screwed up big at work and I think I could get fired over this.” I listened to the situation. Yes, she might have missed some protocols in carrying out a project (an expensive project) but no, she wasn’t going to get fired. I helped her strategize.


1) Be calm. Walk around the block and lose your mind for a minute. But as soon as you’re back inside and dealing with the situation, you need to be calm.

2) Take ownership. If it’s your blunder, own it. Use simple language. “This was my error.” Even if it’s not yours alone (it never really is when you’re working on a team) don’t blame others. Throwing a colleague under the bus will reflect most poorly on you.

3) Determine the root cause. This is tech-speak for figuring out why it happened. If it’s a one-off mistake on your part, say so. But if it’s a procedural issue and is likely to happen again, figure out why it happened and change the methodology. Again, this is not about blame, but about improving overall business practices.