Mistakes At Work - Responses ??

[IKnowItsNotMine]

Everyone makes mistakes and at work I always respond in a way that stops other people feeling shit about themselves.
I fix it if possible, blame training/processes/etc, and try to
put people at ease - irrelevant of the size of the mistake - basically make sure it’s not repeated by anyone.

However, I’ve recently realised that across my career, the handful of notable mistakes Ive personally made and owned (no one died, no lasting impact or anything), other people have made the biggest deal about, jazz hands, etc. making me feel completely shit, without finding out what led to it, or how to avoid a repeat.

Has anyone else noticed this or is it me that has the wrong approach ?

What do you mean Jazz Hands? I guess there's the instinctive reaction- it depends on how much of a howler of a mistake it was I guess. If someone got injured they aren't going to sugar coat it.

I had a colleague that would be absolutely giddy with delight if she ever found an error I made.
Big exclaims of "Oh ToDo, just so shocked to find this mistake. You're usually SO good at your job!"
Usually the reason for my mistakes was due to rushing to get my work done after spending hours fixing stuff she had fucked up.
I can't really offer any advice on how to deal with it as I just got a different job but take great delight when she messages for advice on tasks and I just say I can't remember 🤣

@moonspiral definitely no one has ever been injured - I work in an admin role so think deleted file, missed email, lost order, etc. so an inconvenience more than anything.

I treat people how you do and people have done the same to me on the whole. When I did find myself in a company with blame culture, I left.

I worked with a women who would be gleeful to find others mistakes and then of course rather than write them off as a one off they would create a whole narrative around the person being incompetent. These mistakes were very minor. She was, and continues to be a toxic bitch troll.

I do the same as you OP, if something I cannot sort out by my own i will private message the person to try and understand and we can nearly always fix it together without involving anyone else I am always happy to helps

i have a current manager where every little mistake is picked up and put in you staff yearly appraisal and colleagues who email the manager over something minor and it is really stressing me out

the only thing I happy about is people will come to me for helps (even though I am no a a manager) cos if I can helps someone I will

I sound mean compared to previous responses but I try to look at it in a fair way.

If the issue is lack of training, poor procedure then that is recognised.

But if it genuinely is their fault and the mistake should have been caught, I'm open with that too and we discuss in a constructive way. Maybe its different in different industries but we really need people to learn from their mistakes, not repeat the same mistakes and learn how to fix them.

I just always think a mistake is a learning opportunity and a chance to improve something - I presume no one makes mistakes on purpose or because they can’t be bothered.
I would always want to encourage an open culture where people own up quickly to an error so it can be addressed in a timely manner & prevented from happening again. I want to be that approachable Boss - not a cowbag who maximises the opportunity to make someone feel small (which is what I get in return!)