Admit your mistakes, but don’t apologize for them
BusinessWeek ran an article by Tammy Erickson last month about Generation Y and stress, showing that despite our tendency toward thinking rather highly of our own abilities and demanding a lot from the workplace, we’re still not very good at relaxing at work:
Many Gen Ys are also feeling overwhelmed by high expectations and multiple choices. In one survey, over 60 percent of recent high school graduates surveyed said that they had experienced some of the symptoms doctors use to diagnose clinical depression.
I spent much of the first few months at my current job feeling stressed out. It’s an unfortunate side-effect of wanting to make an immediate impression and move up quick. Since we’re not usually content to just sit at a desk and wait for a few years until someone rewards us for longevity, we tend to go all-out, putting all sorts of pressure on ourselves to perform at an unprecedented standard.
This is both a good and a bad thing. Good because it tends to work: Generation Y employees do get noticed in the workplace for their talents. Bad because it tends to result in an incredible amount of stress when you’re starting at a new job. Because, of course, it’s hard to stand out as an expert at the work you do when you’re just learning where the bathroom is and what the company you work for actually does.
Depending on the type of person you are, time may be the only thing that really relieves the stress. But for me what really helped was coming to the understanding that great employees aren’t the ones who never ask dumb questions or don’t make mistakes — great employees are the ones who strive to learn everything they can and confront their own mistakes with solutions and recommendations. And, more importantly, great employees aren’t automatons basking in perfection. Great employees are human, and humans make mistakes. The trick is to let yourself.
Learning that was like a revelation. I stopped worrying about my mistakes. Before, I’d try to hide or minimize them. Once or twice I even made the cardinal workplace sin of looking for someone else to blame. And, in the event where it became clear to coworkers that I had made a mistake, I’d strive to come up with long-winded explanations and apologies.
“Matt, did you do that research we need?” “No, sorry, I forgot and I had to take my car in for service and I haven’t been feeling well and…” On and on.
It was stressing me out and it was making me look bad. The best answer in a case like that? A simple “No, I forgot, but I’ll get right on it.” And then you deliver. Admit your mistakes, but don’t apologize for them. In the end, no one’s likely to remember the tiny slip-up, but everyone’s likely to remember the way you sulked about it or apologized profusely.
The workplace is a busy place, and everyone drops the ball every now and again. Striving for perfection is only going to result in stress for you and will ultimately hurt your standing in the office environment. By letting go of that urge, and admitting to the occasions where you do screw up, you’ll be happier and likely more productive at work.