How to Repair Your Reputation at Work After a Mistake

How to Repair Your Reputation at Work After a Mistake How to Repair Your Reputation at Work After a MistakeFollow these five steps to recover from a mistake at work.First nobodys perfect. Maybe youve made a mistake at work so egregious that you feel youll never truly recover from it. Whether you missed a deadline that caused the company to lose money or you shared information about a co-worker that caused him or her to feel betrayed, a big mistake or failure at work can be frustrating to others and cause damage to your reputation.And your reputation matters. In this digital age, insights about your work reputation appear on search engines and social media, which explains why 69 percent of employers research candidates zugnglich before making a hiring decision. Among the people you work with every day, you want to build a reputation that truly represents you and your capabilities. But how do you recover after youve let the company or your co-workers down? Here are five ways to repair your reputation and overcome mistakes youve made at work.Take responsibility for your actionsYour reputation can be damaged by poor judgment or failure to deliver on a commitment. However, it can be repaired by taking ownership of your error and accepting accountability for the consequences. Nobody likes to work with someone who blames others for their mistakes. Its one thing to acknowledge that market conditions prevented your kollektiv from meeting its sales goal, despite a great plan and a strong effort by the team. Its another thing to blame your boss if you took on a project and didnt complete it. Everybody makes mistakes and sometimes fails at the tasks they were given. When you take responsibility for your shortcomings, you allow others to establish trust in you and set the stage for repairing your reputation.ApologizeIm sorry can deliver a lot of weight when said in the right context. However, apologizing is not just about uttering those two words. You need to deliver your apology in a way that shows you possess genuine remorse no fauxpologies or Im sorry if you feel that way Its better to have a reputation for apologizing than for being unrepentant.Help yourself after a work failure by expressing an attitude of apology, even if you dont really feel it or dont think the failure was entirely your fault. For example, if you were due to give a presentation to the executive leadership team but arrived late because your printer jammed or you got stuck in the elevator, leise apologize and tell your manager youre sorry you didnt make it into the boardroom on time. When you show others you can apologize, even for the things that may not be fully under your control, you can more effectively recover from the mishap and save your reputation in the process.Related Damage Control Have You Been a Fool at Work?Do great workSometimes you make a mistake that has such negative implications that it may feel like youll never recover. In this case, taking accountability and apologizing doesnt begin to scratch the surface of reputational repair. However, even if youre the in-house attorney who failed to do proper due diligence on a company acquisition, causing a deal to fall through, there is still hope.Perhaps the only way to repair your reputation is by going the extra mile and doing your best work and more. To make restitution for previous mistakes, youll need to look for opportunities to let your positive work outweigh the negatives from the past. For example, you can volunteer to lead a new initiative, offer to help your manager with a key project, and bring added value to the team in a multitude of ways that allow them to regain their trust in you.Find a beraterA mentor can be invaluable in helping you navigate the challenges of overcoming a failure at work. If youve lost the trust of a colleague or cant seem to earn your teams respect, a mentor can provide real-time coaching and guidance to help you rebuild your credibility. In addition, if your mentor happens to work in the same company, they can also help to talk up your strengths and remind others of the value you add.Put the failure behind youWhen youve done everything you can to rebuild your reputation after a serious misstep at work, eventually youll have to put the past behind you. If you remain mired in regret over your prior actions, youll miss out on opportunities to continue the good work that earned you a strong reputation in the first place. Some of the ways you can move on include showing a willingness to talk about your past mistakes without becoming overly emotional and reflecting on past errors with a healthy dose of humor.Changing peoples perceptions of you and your work doesnt happen overnight. In fact, not everyone you work with will be your cheerleader or possess the willingness to look beyond your mistakes. The key to repairing your reputation after youve created a problem or made one worse is using a variety of methods that will help others to se e your kompetenz for redemption. When you take ownership, apologize, and do your best work, you can look beyond your most recent failure and begin to patch back together your reputation at work.Click on the following link for more advice on how to get ahead.Make sure your work mistakes arent reflected on your resume with a free resume critique. Try it todayRecommended ReadingDamage Control for Your Professional Reputation5 Habits That Can Harm Your CareerMoving Through the Challenges of Perfectionism at WorkRelated Articles