If you did it, just own it: On accountability

For most people, one of the hardest things in life to say is “Worcestershire sauce.” A close second is, “I’m sorry.” I would even suggest the latter is the most difficult to say in a business setting, because a lot of us expect perfection and it’s very seldom that we can show up that way.

Let’s have a discussion about honest errors. What do you do when you’ve made a mistake?

There’s nothing funny about messing something up. The first time I really slapped on the idiot helmet was when I **accidentally** took an entire radio station off air, resulting in the loss of thousands of dollars of revenue. It turns out, if an advertiser’s commercial doesn’t air, they aren’t inclined to pay for the time slot.

The following morning, I was nose to nose with the President and Sales Manager of the station as a missile-style questioning period began. They ranged from the consideration and hypothesis of whether or not my 20-something-year-old brain was actually functioning to what sort of mechanical thing I had done to cause such a massive error.

Of course, like any smart person under fire, the natural thing to do was deflect.

I was so busy, so tired, so overworked, so… so… not paying attention. But that wasn’t about to leave my lips. No way. No how. What was a copywriter doing needing to be near the main brain of the system anyway? And who the heck would put someone so green in charge? And... and... other perfectly molded excuses, too!

The president let me have it. Not only had I lost them revenue, now I was coming up with excuses. This was the closest I have ever come to getting canned from a job. I know this, because I was told that.

Let me impart on you the thing I learnt that day.

If you did it, just own it.

Save everyone the time it takes to figure out who to blame and get on with the solution. My real estate mentor also taught me by example this same lesson. She explained how she had written something poorly on an addendum that impacted her client.

She just shrugged and said, “Yeah, I did that. Now I have to pay for it. The client shouldn’t, it was my job.” She’s always been so very clear about things like that with me, which I appreciate.

I have thought about her approach a lot over the years. I think by owning mistakes out of the gate, you also reinforce to your clients that you can be trusted to tell the truth, even if the truth makes you look bad. I have felt this firsthand.

You’ve read the mistakes and failures I endured in my first year in the book. I paid for a buyer’s home inspection because I messed up pretty bad and my actions negatively impacted an innocent person. That’s all it is.

By being more accountable, we aren’t saying we are bad at our jobs. We are merely recognizing we are human. A slight alteration in our mindset removes all the drama and emotion around making a mistake. It’s an honorable thing when you can just own your stuff.

Have you made an error that has cost you something? Did you find a way to deflect it? Were you able to be brave enough to own it? Leave a comment so we can learn together.

Until then, chin up, keep your feet moving … and burn the white flag.

sz

Copyright 2019 - Shelley Zavitz Realty