Mumbaikars on moving past embarrassing mistakes at work

Recently subscribers to HBO Maxrsquos mailing list received an unusual email with the subject line lsquoIntegration Test Email 1rsquo The body copy simply stated ldquoThis template is used by integration tests onlyrdquo HBO Max on their part apologised for the gaffe admitting an intern was responsible for the mixup In a show of support several netizens shared their own embarrassing workplace fiascos with the hashtag DearIntern trending for several days If anything the episode proved that such mistakes are all too common across industries and ranks ldquoMissteps are a natural part of the working process how you respond to and bounce back is what differentiates yourdquo says Brajesh Bajpai leadership coach and director of international business at Vodacom He advises following a simple threestep processKaran Dhebri and Samin RafiqueAccept your faultldquoOrganisations are very porous and it is unrealistic to assume that you can conceal any blunders Instead I suggest operating under the assumption that everyone already knows When you realise that you have made an error be proactive in admitting to it so that you can then work on resolving itrdquo advises Bajpai Investment banker Karan Dhebri acknowledges the importance of this step ldquoWe work in a very highpressure highstakes setting and this one time I was assigned a project that I couldnrsquot complete within the prescribed time frame I kept my boss updated about the delay When our deadline arrived my super boss expressed his disappointment at not being informed about the same I was taken aback I decided to address this in an email containing all the necessary documentation to absolve me However I ended up sending it to my boss instead of my super boss I immediately approached him to explain my rationale behind writing the email Fortunately we had a great rapport and he understoodrdquo the 31yearold recallsRachana SarojBe sincereldquoI began working when I was quite young and my first job involved a lot of accounting work on software that I was completely inexperienced with I made a seemingly minor error that eventually ended up causing a difference of more than R1 crore My boss was livid However I explained to him that my error was one of inexperience and asked him how I could rectify it I spent the next three hours manually checking the records to identify and correct the mistakerdquo shares Samin Rafique a 22yearold marketing professional If your error is relatively minor you can volunteer to see the humour in it before someone else pokes fun at your expense If it is a major issue you must take responsibility and make a sincere effort to rectify the same says Bajpai ldquoNever fail alone Remember the task assigned to you affects the entire organisation and if you need help managing it you must ask for help Further if your manager is accorded some part of the responsibility they are likely to be more invested in your successrdquo he elaborates At a subsequent job Rafiquersquos team who were working on social media marketing for an Indian restaurant mistakenly assigned their advertising to a Sri Lankan audience owing to similarsounding city names ldquoMy team leader explained the sitation to our client Although we had spent most of our advertising budget I worked on developing organic means of advertising the brand that proved very successful And in doing so I was not only able to turn the scenario around but also earned accolades for my work and initiativerdquo she explainsBrajesh BajpaiDonrsquot let it stickItrsquos important to let mistakes be isolated incidents you must learn from them so you do not repeat them The last part of damage control is to take feedback about any residual impacts of your error and address them says Bajpai If the damage is irreversible walk away ldquoKnow that a job is a pitstop while your career is a journey If something isnrsquot working donrsquot cling to it and let it fester Look for a workplace or a role that is better suited to your talentsrdquo he suggests ldquoAfter years of working as a freelance photographer I found it difficult to manage a team when I was made head of my department I struggled with my mental health and could not deliver Overwhelmed I resigned from my job Upon reflection I realised I was unprepared for the challenge of working in a team as its leader It is only once I left that I had the clarity to understand my challengesrdquo says Rachana Saroj a 23yearold social media manager