Everybody makes mistakes – it’s a part of being human. While beating yourself up over the past isn’t helpful, learning from it is. As Winston Churchill once said, “All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.”
Have you committed some blunders in your career that you feel are hurting your future? The tips below can help you identify professional flub ups and get you back on track professionally.
Burning Bridges
Have you had a lot of conflict in the past with your co-workers or even your boss? If so, now is the time to work on rebuilding those relationships by showing respect, patience and understanding. To smooth things over, you may also need to apologize to colleagues you’ve quarreled with in the past or at least make a concerted effort to start fresh in the relationship.
Being the Life of Every Party
While there’s nothing wrong with having a reputation for being fun, if you’re always playing the part of office comedian, it could hurt your career because colleagues won’t know when to take your seriously. Strive to show those around you that your work is important to you and that you can be trusted with sensitive issues. Keep your light-hearted side, but just make sure you display it at appropriate times.
Strolling on Easy Street
Without ambition, it’s hard to go anywhere professionally. If you’ve let your skills get rusty or just haven’t been going after top projects, chances are management has taken notice. Focus on displaying your enthusiasm for your job by volunteering for new assignments and keeping your credentials up-to-date.
Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places
Office romances can be tempting, but they’re also risky business. If you’ve dated a co-worker in the past or even just done some heavy flirting, it may have affected your colleagues’ opinions of you. To keep interoffice relationships from damaging your reputation, it’s essential to maintain your professionalism. You can do this by treating all co-workers in a polite and business-like manner and carefully weighing the consequences before dating a colleague in the future.
Dropping the Ball on a Big Project
Have you ever worked on an important project where everything went wrong? Although you may not be able to change what happened with the assignment, you can show that you’ve learned from your mistakes. Talk to your boss about your insights on the project and what you’re doing now to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen again.
To keep professional mistakes from damaging your career, focus on learning from past errors and improving your performance each day. No one is perfect, so don’t get discouraged when you’ve made a wrong turn. Instead, aim to get back on course as quickly as you can.
What have you learned from your career blunders? Let us know in the comments section below.
