Making mistakes at work: How to own it and move on
Summary
No matter who you are, falling down from time to time is normal. Mistakes are part of being human. They're essential to help us grow, from learning to walk as toddlers to navigating school, personal relationships, and the workplace.
In this article, you'll learn why workplace mistakes feel so daunting, what your manager is actually thinking when you mess up, and practical steps for handling errors with confidence. Ultimately, it's how you pick yourself up that matters.
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Making mistakes at work
Yes, making mistakes at work is completely normal, and it happens to everyone, regardless of experience or role. However, it rarely feels good when errors occur because our jobs are tied to our identity, income, and sense of competence.
But it's not realistic to be perfect all the time. You'll make mistakes at some point, and that's OK. The vast majority of the time, mistakes aren't as huge as we initially think they are.
It's not the end of the world when you mess up; it's an opportunity to learn, grow, and improve. The real mistake is trying to cover up errors instead of telling someone and acknowledging what happened.
Why you're afraid of making mistakes at work
Fear of making mistakes is deeply human. For many professionals, their career forms a core part of their identity, so errors can feel like personal failures rather than simple missteps.
Several factors drive this fear:
Job security concerns: You may worry about losing your position, especially if you or your family depends on your income.
Relationship damage: You could fear harming your reputation with colleagues or your manager.
Identity threat: You might worry that one mistake will define how others perceive your competence.
Mental health impact: Atelophobia, the fear of imperfection, can lead to anxiety and depression when left unchecked.
Recognizing that this fear is common and has identifiable causes is the first step toward managing it effectively.
What leaders really think when you mess up
Here's some good news: most managers don't expect perfection from their team members. Many leaders view mistakes as a natural part of professional growth and learning.
What matters most to managers isn't whether you make mistakes, but how you handle them:
What builds trust | What raises concern |
Taking ownership of the error | Hiding or covering up mistakes |
Communicating openly and promptly | Shifting blame to others |
Working toward solutions | Making excuses or justifications |
Learning and preventing future issues | Repeating the same mistakes |
Most experienced managers have made plenty of mistakes in their own careers. They understand that errors happen, especially when team members take on new challenges or work in fast-paced environments.
Anatomy of Work Special Report: The unexplored link between impostor syndrome and burnout
Burnout and impostor syndrome have historically been studied as two separate phenomena. In this report, we connect the dots to help leaders slow burnout and increase employee retention.
Perfectionism: The enemy of productivity
When you try to be perfect, it's hard to get things done. Signs that perfectionism may be holding you back include:
Constantly double-checking your work
Struggling to delegate tasks to others
Procrastinating when you're afraid of making mistakes
Furthermore, studies suggest that extreme perfectionism puts you at higher risk for burnout, job dissatisfaction, and depression.
Being a perfectionist, or managing one, can be tough. But you can combat the negative effects of perfectionism by normalizing mistakes and talking openly about how to learn from them. This is part of a concept called psychological safety: the belief that your work environment is safe for interpersonal risks, such as speaking up with questions, concerns, or mistakes.
Ultimately, you can still have high standards without trying to be perfect. You don't actually want perfect employees; you want solid team processes that help make work as good as it can be. That's the reason newspapers have editors and copyeditors: they've created a process to provide feedback, improve the initial draft, and nail the finished product.
What to do if you make a mistake at work
Just messed up? No sweat. Here's how to process the situation, take action, and move on:
1. Take a deep breath
It's OK to feel frustrated, anxious, and maybe even embarrassed when you make a mistake. But while those emotions are normal, they can stand in the way of good decision-making. That's why it's important to process your feelings first, so you can take action later with a level head.
Take a minute to ride out whatever you're feeling. Take a deep breath, step away from work, go for a walk, or talk to a trusted friend. Eventually, your negative feelings will pass, leaving you better able to deal with the situation.
2. Tell someone
When you make a mistake, the most important thing is to tell someone before the error gets bigger. Mistakes are rarely as bad as we think, and trying to cover things up can make the situation much worse. Instead, let your manager or a trusted team member know what happened.
Taking ownership of mistakes is hard, but psychologists agree that learning to admit faults is essential to sustaining relationships and growing in the long run. Admitting mistakes doesn't make you look weak; it shows you have the strength to be vulnerable and objective about your actions. As a result, your team can trust you to do the right thing going forward.
3. Acknowledge your mistake
Once you've taken a breather and told someone about your mistake, sometimes you need to acknowledge and apologize for what happened. This doesn't mean you totally messed up or that you're bad at your job; it just means that something went wrong and you learned from it.
When apologizing for a mistake, don't overdo it. Avoid making excuses, justifications, or talking badly about yourself. Be upfront and polite instead, all you need to say is something like: "Hi (coworker), I made this mistake, and I'm working on correcting it. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused on your end."
4. Brainstorm solutions and capture lessons learned
A big part of making mistakes is learning to bounce back and fix them. If your mistake is fixable, create an action plan to remedy the situation. For example, if you forgot to invite a key stakeholder to your project kickoff meeting, send them your meeting notes so they can provide feedback on action items and decisions that were made during the sync.
Not all mistakes can be fixed, and that's OK too. The important thing is to learn from your mistakes and make a plan to avoid them in the future. To continue with the example above, you could resolve to complete a stakeholder analysis at the start of every project to ensure you're looping in the right people at the right time.
5. Take care of yourself
Making mistakes takes an emotional toll. It's important to take care of yourself and address negative feelings in a healthy way, rather than letting them fester.
Try these self-care strategies:
Stick to your normal routine rather than working overtime
Avoid isolating yourself because of anxiety or embarrassment
Step away from work each day to focus on your personal life
Go for a walk, cook a healthy meal, or spend time with friends and family
These actions help you realize that work is just one facet of your life.
Read: What is work anxiety? 10 tips to overcome your work worriesAnatomy of Work Special Report: The unexplored link between impostor syndrome and burnout
Burnout and impostor syndrome have historically been studied as two separate phenomena. In this report, we connect the dots to help leaders slow burnout and increase employee retention.
6. Get perspective
Still feeling down about your mistake? It happens, and you're not alone in feeling anxious. The thing is, your mistake probably isn't as bad as you think, and getting some perspective can help you deal with any residual anxiety.
When people make mistakes, they often fall into one of these "thinking traps", negative thought patterns that make it hard to get perspective and see a situation for what it really is. If you're struggling with anxiety about a mistake, take a look at this list to see which "thinking traps" you might be experiencing.
Black and white thinking: Seeing things as either 100% good or 100% bad.
Example: I made a big mistake and cannot accomplish a certain deliverable. Now my project is ruined.
Solution: Look for shades of gray. Situations are rarely either perfect or totally worthless; try to find at least one silver lining.
Overgeneralizing: Viewing a mistake as a never-ending pattern of defeat.
Example: I missed another deadline. I'll never be able to complete projects on time, and nobody will trust me again.
Solution: Remember past successes or positive events. What are the things you've accomplished in the past that you're proud of?
Mind reading: Assuming that other people will think about you negatively because of your mistake.
Example: I was nervous during a presentation and misspoke. Now people will think I'm incapable or unprofessional.
Solution: Remember that you're not at the center of the universe, and people have other things to do than sit around thinking negative thoughts about you. When other people made mistakes in the past, was it such a big deal?
Emotional reasoning: Assuming that if you feel something is true, it must be true.
Example: I forgot to bring my notes to a client meeting and got completely flustered. Now I'll never get the promotion I wanted, and I can't show my face at work tomorrow.
Solution: Get some distance. How many times in the past has the worst-case scenario actually happened? Will you remember this mistake in a week, a month, or a year?
Catastrophizing: Imagining the worst-case scenario and thinking you wouldn't be able to deal with it.
Example: I just bombed a job interview, and my job search is dragging on. Now I'm never going to find a new position, and I'll lose my apartment when my savings run out.
Solution: Think of all the resources you have available to you, people, places, or things. What's the first thing you would do if the worst happened?
Personalizing: Blaming one person (like yourself) for a situation that has many causes.
Example: My initiative failed because I'm bad at project management. I should have managed stakeholders more effectively to ensure tasks were completed on time.
Solution: Remember that nobody is perfect. Focus on creating solutions rather than placing blame.
Advice for managers: What to do when a direct report makes a mistake
As a manager, how you respond when team members mess up is important. It sets the tone for your team culture and can help your team feel psychologically safe, so employees feel comfortable taking risks without being held back by an overwhelming fear of failure.
Here's what to do when one of your direct reports makes a mistake:
Don't place blame: When someone owns up to their mistake, avoid blaming them or telling them it was their fault. Rather, thank them for coming to you, and focus on what happened instead. Help the team member identify the steps the team needs to take to fix the situation.
Be curious: Instead of making assumptions about what happened, ask questions to understand your team member's perspective. Practice active listening to internalize what they're saying and let them know you're paying attention.
Communicate in person or over video: When someone on your team makes a mistake, it's important to visually demonstrate that you're not upset or angry. Things can get lost in translation over Slack or email, so it's better to speak face-to-face if you can.
Let team members try to figure things out on their own: Mistakes are a natural part of delegating, and it's OK to let team members make and fix small mistakes on their own. This helps them build the problem-solving skills and self-confidence they need to resolve their own mistakes in the future.
Make it a learning experience: After giving your team member a chance to resolve their mistake, provide feedback to help them learn from the situation. If you're comfortable, share how you've dealt with major mistakes in the past to build trust.
If mistakes repeat after the first time, brainstorm solutions: When the same mistakes keep happening, there may be an underlying issue. Brainstorm what habits or changes could help prevent the issue in the future, like helping an employee set up calendar alerts if they're frequently late to meetings.
Don't try to be perfect; create great processes instead
Mistakes are a part of life, and it's not realistic to avoid them altogether. Instead, focus on creating solid team processes that allow for misjudgments and errors. For example, instead of trying to produce a perfect product on the first try, create a process that allows you to iterate and improve your product over time.
Ready to build processes that set your team up for success? With Asana, you can create workflows that catch errors early, keep everyone aligned, and turn lessons learned into lasting improvements. Get started and help your team work with confidence, knowing that mistakes are just part of the journey toward better outcomes.
Anatomy of Work Special Report: The unexplored link between impostor syndrome and burnout
Burnout and impostor syndrome have historically been studied as two separate phenomena. In this report, we connect the dots to help leaders slow burnout and increase employee retention.
