There’s a thin line between a job and a career. A “job” is a means to survive. A “career” takes you on a journey where you positively impact the world around you.
The average person spends 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime. Mistakes are bound to be made.
Instead of being ashamed and never trying something new, embrace the lesson learned. Just because you’ve experienced this situation doesn’t mean your dream career is doomed. When pivoting in your career, the uncharted mishaps will propel you if you learn from it and grow.
Own it
Admitting that you were wrong isn’t easy. It takes courage to say a project didn’t work out. Self-confidence drives the conversation you have with yourself and others.
Admitting a mistake makes you more trustworthy. Eighty-one percent of employees considered it important or very important for leaders to admit mistakes, but only 41 percent felt their bosses consistently did so, according to a survey by Glass Hammer.
To have a positive understanding of what happened:
- Take a step back to view the situation in its entirety.
- Gain clarity on what you could have done differently.
- Work through mentally what happened until you’re at peace with yourself—the feeling of shame no longer clouds the memory.
Lead the conversation
Mind mapping each significant defeat will assist in the clarity process. This exercise will shape the situation, lessons learned and what to avoid. Key questions to help structure the conversation you’ll share:
- What was the intention or goal of the idea?
- How did you start the project?
- At what stage did you realize it wasn’t going to work?
- What red flags did you overlook?
- Now having a distinctive perspective of the situation, what would you have done differently?
- What are the top three lessons you learned from going through this?
Having all the information written out will assist in highlighting the important points. Practice sharing it with others you trust for feedback. The more you share, the more natural it will be during the interview.
An example conversation: “Let me share a time when I thought a project was going to turn out differently than it did. I initially created X to serve as the foundation for the new marketing campaign. However, the consumers weren’t satisfied with the rollout and began unfollowing the brand. After self-reflection, I now realize I rushed my direct reports before the campaign had been put out for review. I take full responsibility for what happened. I learned how important it is to have a lead time and not expedite a project that isn’t time sensitive. I’ve learned how to listen to all viewpoints when starting a new campaign.”
Embrace the lessons
It’s one thing to acknowledge what you’ve done and understand the lessons in the situation. However, you’ll level up when you apply them. Changing your mindset and behavior doesn’t happen overnight; you need to remain conscientious and mindful of how you approach situations, people and opportunities to enhance your mindset; be open to varying approaches.
- Ask for and be open to feedback.
- Before accepting defeat, take a step back to see if something else can be done.
- Make discussing setbacks normal and encourage others to do the same.
Here’s to the success of the new narrative and the defeats that shape the journey.
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