🏢WorkLife Wednesday: Mistakes in the Workplace

Good morning. Today, I’m going to tell you a story about a mistake I made in the workplace and how it forever changed my perspective on them.

I once bought a Ford F-150 for a mobile coffee shop I never started, had too much fun the night before a shift causing me to get blessed out by my boss when I clocked in late for work, and interviewed for the same job at the same company 6 times and couldn’t get it… until the 7th; but none of these mistakes or miscalculations were as embarrassing as the one I made at work just a month ago.

This Summer, our office had a group of very talented interns. Many of which were entering their senior year of college and looked to me for advice on if our company would be a good fit for them post-graduation. We discussed possible landing roles and I even sold a few interns on the team I’m with now. Along with the amazing experience the company gave them during their internship, I’m proud to be a piece of why they want to be full-time employees of our company.

As the Summer dwindled and the interns began planning their trips back to University, there was one final task to complete: Final Intern Presentations; a chance to showcase the badass projects they worked on for the past 3 months. To me, final presentations aren’t just presenting the work you accomplish, but a tryout that separates you from the pack. How will you present your accomplishments in a way that makes you more memorable to hiring managers? (a newsletter topic for another day) We practiced presentations together for the next 2 weeks, exposing opportunities and flaws in their presentations until each were squeaky clean. On presentation day, I knew the interns were warriors and ready to go, or compete I should say.

During one of the practices, I was asked to host the Final Intern Presentation Meeting. This was a huge honor for me. I was responsible for setting up the conference room / online meeting, introducing presenters, housing PowerPoint slides on my laptop, and gauging questions from attendees. Aside from the hosting duties, I would also gain visibility to key decision makers in the company. But above all, I was honored to be in charge of the most important day in these young professional’s lives.

The Mistake: The presentations didn’t start until 9:30AM that morning. That gave me enough time to make my breakfast run. I went to Chick-Fil-A for my 4-count chicken minis and a cup of water, and even had plenty of time to visit our barista in the office for a latte. Finally, it was 9:00AM and I wanted to set up our conference room & online call at least 20 minutes before the start time to welcome attendees to the meeting. So I got in the elevator and headed up to the room.

“Wait, hold the elevator!” a manager called out. I thought it was strange that a manager had time to join the meeting so early, but as we exited the elevator and headed down the hall, my heart sank. As we passed by the glass walls of the conference room, I made eye contact with managers and interns, now realizing that the meeting started at 9AM, not 9:30AM. I was late to my own meeting.

With a Styrofoam Chick-Fil-A cup in one hand, an iced latte in the other, and a bead of sweat slowly dripping down my neck, I entered the room of interns who were scrambling to set up the meeting. I didn’t apologize as not wanting to make excuses. I mean seriously, I made 2 (TWO) stops for breakfast, and got the start time wrong for the meeting. What could I possibly say to make this better? I found a seat by the computer set-up and put my cups on the floor underneath the table, praying nobody saw them. I set up the meeting as quick as possible; it was 9:10AM, the time I wanted to set up, and we got started.

The interns kicked ass. They performed 10X better than any of the practices. I was proud of them but couldn’t kick the shame I felt of letting them, and management that trusted me with the job, down.

Reflection: I’ve been conflicted as I reflect on this mistake. As someone who is normally punctual to a fault (ask my wife), how could I have been so negligent? As someone who takes pride in developing young professionals, how could I let the interns down? And as someone who steps up to the plate and swings for the fence, I struck out watching an underhanded change-up thrown by my managers. I replayed that moment of corporate self-sabotage in my head for days, asking myself these questions over and over again.

But I found a moment of clarity as I listened to Alex Banayan promote his new book, The Third Door. The book is a reflection of Banayan’s wild adventures as he commits his life to interviewing the most famous people in the world. One string of words stuck out to me, “treat your mistakes like your best friends.” Banayan said. “I LOVE my best friends,” I thought. I would die for them, on their best and worst days. Best friends find value in each other’s strengths and weaknesses. They don’t judge, but are therapists you can drink with. You can be with them in silence, or party through the night. You’ve been through a lot together and you can call on them whenever. I wanted to apply every part of my relationships with my best friends to my mistake at work, but I was angry and resentful. To treat my mistakes like my best friends, I needed to get past the anger.

“Being angry is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” I remembered an old saying I’d heard a number of times, I think Buddha said it first. In this case, I thought of “the other person” as my mistake. Nothing was being accomplished by my anger. Who was I really mad at? The mistake can’t take accountability, but I can. I had to stop being mad at myself before accepting the mistake.

Once I stopped being angry at my mistake, I saw it clearly for what it is. Who better to give accountability to than the only thing I can control, myself? I needed to respect my mistake, and myself, like I respect my best friends. I see value in our relationships because they make me a better person. My mistake DID make me a better person. What felt like corporate self-sabotage at the time has actually given me a new perspective on being diligent over my calendar. I could resent the mistake and wish I done things differently, but now it’s part of my story and what makes me the leader I am. Next time there’s a leadership opportunity and someone from my team shows up late, I can show them grace and humility because I learned the hard way.

I love this mistake. Just like with my best friends, I’m not the professional, man, or friend I am today without it.

_{Written by Bailey Hepler}

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