{"id":830,"date":"2013-05-14T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-05-14T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/four-things-to-do-when-you-make-a-mistake-at-work\/"},"modified":"2013-05-14T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-05-14T15:00:00","slug":"four-things-to-do-when-you-make-a-mistake-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/four-things-to-do-when-you-make-a-mistake-at-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Four things to do when you make a mistake at work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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(From today\u2019s post<\/a> over at The High Calling. Won\u2019t you join the\u00a0<\/span>conversation<\/span><\/i>\u00a0over there<\/a>?)<\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
As a college-bound teenager, I was determined to make as much money as possible during summers. And my dad \u2013 a roofer \u2013 needed the help. There were perks \u2014 free transportation in Dad\u2019s 52 Chevy, a lunch packed by mom, and a paycheck that didn\u2019t bounce.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Reality is, I wasn\u2019t a good roofer. My lines were often crooked \u2013 which if left uncorrected would ruin the run of shingles going all the way up the house. So, my patient dad would help me rip up the offending row and we\u2019d start over.<\/div>\n
On one hot August day, I committed a cardinal roofing mistake. I didn\u2019t properly secure the most important tool we had \u2013 the ladder. Through a negligent sideswipe of my body, I bumped into the ladder and watched it fall helplessly to the ground.<\/div>\n
There we were, stuck on the roof. I saw my dad\u2019s face, sullen and slack-jawed, and he was very quiet.This was bad<\/em>.\u00a0Eventually, a passerby saw our dilemma and thought he should call the fire department. We talked him out of it.\u00a0\u201cHonest buddy, just push the ladder up here.\u201d<\/em>\n<\/div>\n
Paying the price<\/strong><\/div>\n
That wasn\u2019t the last mistake I\u2019ve made on the job. I\u2019ve messed up at work \u2013 plenty of times \u2014 and have had to pay a price to make things right. I\u2019ve had to make amends with coworkers, call customers, or stay late at night to fix my errors.<\/div>\n
But no one has had to pay the price quite like Washington D.C. Meteorologist Tucker Barnes. The WTTG-TV<\/a> weather man predicted a monster spring storm would hit the capital. Instead, the area just got just a dusting of snow and rain.<\/div>\n
His punishment was played out on live TV the next day, as he was\u00a0forced to take a \u201ctimeout<\/a>\u201d in the corner of the studio.\u00a0 \u201cFinally, someone takes responsibility for their actions,\u201d boomed the voiceover. The hilarious stunt was further enhanced by Barnes calls from the corner. \u201cI don\u2019t know why you guys have to do this to me,\u201d he said. And, \u201cHow long do I have to stay here?\u201d<\/div>\n
You might not have to sit in a corner, but the results of your mistakes are often no less publicly humiliating. Loss of position, pay or prominence are all common results of getting it wrong. Paying a price for mistakes is a long-standing principle in the workplace.<\/div>\n
Part of our high calling is facing the music when things go south. We are told in Galatians 6:5 \u201cthat every person should bear their own load.\u201d In other words \u2013 we should learn to take our lumps.<\/div>\n
Here are four things you must do when you make a mistake at work.<\/div>\n
\nOwn it\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Don\u2019t point fingers. Don\u2019t blame. Just admit it. Because of the complicated work structures of the modern workforce, mistakes are often multi-layered and shared.\u00a0 If the mistake isn\u2019t your solely, then step up to your responsible portion without implicating others.<\/div>\n
\nFix it<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Don\u2019t let someone else clean up behind you. If you broke it, you should be the one who has to face the music in front of suppliers, customers, or other employees and do all you can to put it back together it.<\/div>\n
\nEmbrace it\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 There is something about owning up to mistakes that help close the door. And you can even laugh about it later. To my dad\u2019s dying day, we laughed about that ladder.<\/div>\n
\nDon\u2019t repeat it\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 When you learn from your past, you earn respect. You are able to teach others and mature. Learning from the past is a valuable trait in any field.<\/div>\n
When was the last time you messed up at work? Can you laugh about it now?<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
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\"Enhanced<\/a><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(From today\u2019s post over at The High Calling. Won\u2019t you join the\u00a0conversation\u00a0over there?)\u00a0 As a college-bound teenager, I was determined to make as much money as possible during summers. And my dad \u2013 a roofer \u2013 needed the help. There were perks \u2014 free transportation in Dad\u2019s 52 Chevy, a lunch packed by mom, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[161,196,551,741,742,914],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-and-maintenance","category-david-rupert","category-mistakes-on-the-job","category-roof","category-roofer","category-tucker-barnes"],"yoast_head":"\nFour things to do when you make a mistake at work<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"(From today's post over at The High Calling. 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