The first reaction, as a rule: a feeling of annoyance at yourself, fear of the consequences, a lack of understanding of what to do next, a desire to justify yourself.
Let's learn to get out of such situations with minimal losses. The first thing to do is to admit your mistake, that is, try to discard all emotions and move as quickly as possible into a position of acceptance. Secondly, if the error is significant, report it to the manager as soon as possible — this way there are more chances to correct it.
And now the main point! During a difficult conversation for you, do not make excuses in any case. A person who knows how to admit his guilt and who seeks to correct an omission causes respect and looks worthy. The opposite is perceived when an employee gives a thousand reasons, proves that everyone is to blame, but not him, etc.
And let the reasons really played a role, but this is not interesting to the manager and explanations of this kind will only aggravate the situation. Now your task is to fix it as soon as possible, taking responsibility for yourself. And here you have a chance to raise your authority. Be prepared for the consequences: honestly and straightforwardly answer yourself and the manager to the question of what they can be. It often turns out that everything is not so terrible as it seems at first glance.
To accept the situation and live it more painlessly will help the realization that any mistake is an experience that makes you stronger and wiser, and the manager is the same person and has also made mistakes more than once. This advice is not for your own comfort, but for the opportunity to approach the problem consciously, from the position of the author, not the victim. As you can see, the need to develop personal growth and flexible thinking skills once again comes to the fore.
Elena Bogomolova, Founder and CEO of PROTALENT LAB