When going in to an interview in the workplace nowadays, everyone is looking for the quality of integrity. We want to work for an employer that has integrity. We want to pick the candidate that exudes integrity. But what about ownership? When faced with the truth that you made a mistake, how do you handle it? Do you own up to it?
As a parent, I have always taught my children that there is NOTHING that they can do to lose my love, and to hide their mistakes is far more costly in my eyes. To me, it's a biblical approach. I know that if I screw up, God will bless the mess if I confess (I like rhyming, it's just more fun). So that's what I try to instill in my children. It's not perfect, and you may not agree, but I think it's good. I'll let you know the outcome in about 50 years ;)
However, in the business world, I find it hard to impress this value in adult employees. Being an operations manager for the last several years, I get the fun task of confronting people with their mistakes, in the hopes that they will learn from it. Here's what I've witnessed: "Who me? Couldn't be...", or "Well, see what happened was...", or "I saw so-and-so doing it, so I thought it must be ok..." and you get the picture now, right? It's becoming more rare that someone just says "you're right, I was wrong". I know that's what I try to do. And I make mistakes! Trust me. Just because I may be in a leadership position, doesn't mean I am perfect. I actually think it's learning from the mistakes that have helped me in my path to leadership.
So here's your takeaway: when someone in your life brings your mistake to your attention, take ownership! 'Fess up. Move on. Learn from it. Grow. Because after all, if my 3 year old can do it, you can too.
