ImagesMagUK_June_2021

www.images-magazine.com JUNE 2021 images 63 KB BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT there was a problem. Have you ever asked someone about a mistake and they pressed the nuclear button on the situation and over- reacted? That’s their ego talking. When the volume goes up and their tone becomes more aggressive it only serves to cover up the fact that they may not actually understand or know the right way to do something. It is a magic trick designed to get you to leave them alone. Don’t fall for it. Pretender mistakes Another type of mistake is the repeat offender. Do you have these folks working for you? This is the person that makes a mistake, and when it is brought to light they swear up and down that they won’t ever do it again. And then they turn around and repeat exactly the same problem. It has to be the most frustrating part of managing a team. Are they pretending to reform here? The problem with this type of ‘pretender mistake’ is that somehow they make you feel like it is your fault that they keep making the mistakes. You should give them more time, or training, or chances. It’s all your fault! In the meantime, they are going to pretend that they will do it differently the next time. Only to keep repeating the mistake. Worse is when you let them. You don’t have time to correct them again, so you just allow the mistakes to continue. Which brings us to... Ignored mistakes This is probably the worst kind in my book. Someone is making a mistake, and other team members or even their supervisors ignore the problem. Like. It. Never. Happened. This could be about anything. Large or small. How to clock in. The proper way to do something. Completing a form or sending information. Not following the directions or standards on a task. The major challenge with the ‘ignored mistake’ is that when it is repeated often enough it becomes ingrained into the culture. Avoiding the confrontation equals implied permission. This is why employees might feel that it is acceptable to clock in twenty minutes before their shift starts and eat breakfast in the break room. Or not fill out the order information completely when starting a new production order. Even not cleaning up after themselves when they make a mess or they decide to reheat their shrimp dinner in the microwave. (Please just say no.) It is a magic trick designed to get you to leave them alone When they are eventually confronted about it, they shrug it off with, “Hey, nobody said anything…!” Correcting the wrong type of mistakes The good news is that it is not too late. Even if you have a team of the worst offenders in the universe working for you, you can steer the ship back in the proper direction. Here’s how. Be vocal with questions The first thing that is needed is to be vocal about the problem. Your leadership team has to acknowledge that there are issues and mistakes being made. That doesn’t mean they need to be harsh about it, it simply means that they have to speak up. The goal is not to embarrass anyone, but to get to the root cause of the issue. They need to discover more about the situation by asking questions. “Help me understand…” “How did this happen?” “What is the correct way?” “Where should you go to find the answer?” You want to acknowledge that there was a mistake, but find out more about what’s going on. The goal is to discover the source of the issue, not to get their defensive shields up. Change is what you are after, not an argument. What to do: Egotistical mistakes As a leader, you absolutely have to correct this behaviour so it doesn’t grow and get worse. Trust me, your team is watching how you handle this person. Employees that make ‘egotistical mistakes’ are often loud and vocal about labelling their excuses. Deflection is their game, and they are counting on your management team to not want to publicly confront or challenge them. If your supervisors or managers are weak-willed they will fall victim to this type of employee’s gambit. The employee will blame anything and everything rather than admit that they made a mistake. Stronger leaders will see through this and apply more discipline and D id you know there are two types of mistakes? The right mistake, and the wrong mistake. What’s the difference? How do you know? Well, this article is about shedding some light on the differences, so let’s get to it. The right mistake First, let’s discuss what is the right type of mistake. We’ll label this as the ‘honest mistake’. It’s the unknown known type. You simply didn’t know better. You tried anyway. And that is great. Good job! This is the best kind of mistake as this means that you are learning. Something you tried didn’t work out. My friend Richard Greaves says, “Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.” When learning to do something new, these are the mistakes that you want. It is data: “I tried this and it didn’t work. So, now I’m going to try something slightly different.” The right kind of mistake is how you grow. It is how you learned to ride a bicycle, kiss another person, write a poem, paint a picture, cook, or learn to close a deal. Not to mention, every facet of the decorated apparel industry. Often, if you aren’t failing at something you aren’t growing. This is a responsible failure and is usually chocked full of humility: “I’ll never do that again!” The wrong type of mistakes On the other hand, the wrong type of mistake is rooted in something more sinister that needs to be culled out of your organisation or business. This is a direct leadership challenge for your management team. Egotistical mistakes The first wrong type of mistake is built on a foundation of ego. Often the person making the mistake will reject the idea of it even being a mistake and instead blame something or others: “That’s not my fault!” Instead of adopting a posture of learning, they make excuse after excuse as to why it is not their fault. Despite the fact that nobody is blaming them, they constantly shift attention away. Forget about them owning the solution – they usually can’t even begin to acknowledge that