Tag: admitting mistakes at work

Virtual Assistants Should Never Steer Away From Admitting Mistakes

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It is somehow embarrassing or should you say, unprofessional, when you make mistakes at work. This is nothing but natural, especially if you want to make the best out of your day. However, you should know that there is no person, who does not err. This is the same way with you being at work. There will be instances that suddenly, you will forget to e-mail a prospect or maybe, you may miss a deadline due to your negligence in taking notes of your projects.

Still, this is typical, and the most important thing is, you should not blame yourself. Aside from accepting what had happened, you should not be afraid of admitting mistakes. Did you know that clients prefer employees, who do not feel apprehension when it comes to stating the thing they have done incorrectly? For them, a person with such character is hinting his or her desire to learn. Apparently, mistakes are lessons.

Indeed, it is easier said than done, but why you should not try doing it going forward? You would soon see how your client will appreciate more of your honesty. This is due to the fact that at times, when you cover up your errors, a bigger problem will arise.

There is a good example for this. If you are assigned with a time-restricted project and due to your rushing, you did not read the requirements carefully that you forgot a certain document to deliver during the submission date. It is anticipated that your client may even voice out that you are indeed careless in this situation, but believe it or not, if you will admit your mistake and guarantee that this will not happen again, the tension will be reduced. Your client will see that you are not someone, who protects much of his or her professional image to the point of deceiving people around him or her.

Moreover, when you open up your mishaps with your employer, you would also give him or her indication that you can afford criticisms regarding your actions. From these criticisms, you could move forward with a better mindset in the said situation.

Additionally, if you will tell the truth rather than weasel your way out of the predicament, you and your colleagues or employer will find it easier to determine a solution. Remember, if there is a touch of falsehood with your statement, the analysis of the situation could go astray.

Did you know that you could also teach others with the mistakes you made? Yes, you could, especially now that they could also learn how to cope with it the way you did. Your transparency could also be contagious, that your colleagues will not be too prideful.

Remember, it is never a flaw to make a mistake, more so admitting it. You can never be a perfect employee unless you stumble once in a while.

Why Admitting Your Mistake Helps

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Virtual assistants or home-based workers have the privilege not to be supervised in the flesh by their clients or superiors. Due to this, they, at times, make the mistake of covering their pitfalls. Far from their expectation, it could actually put their employment in peril.

In virtual work, it is essential that you open up almost everything to your client. Why? This is due to the fact the only foundation you have with your employer-employee relationship is good communication. Basically, good communication entails that you should also be open about your mistakes. You cannot always be the perfect VA or worker for your client. There is no one such as that. You have to admit that there are cases, especially during your first few months, that you will err.

This topic cannot be expressed effectively by just saying, “You should admit your mistakes to your client.” It should actually be relayed with an example.

One good example could be a virtual assistant who is assigned to supervise their team of VAs in behalf of his superior, who is ultimately the owner of the company. We can name the VA as Clark, whereas the superior as John.

Clark is very committed to his job and perfected every single thing he does for John. Unfortunately, he met a client, whom their VAs carry out tasks for, who is very abusive in terms of requirements. This client of theirs tends to ask their VAs to squeeze in a lot of tasks in strictly limited hours of work, which is totally unjust. John even reminded Clark to ensure that this would not happen.

At first, Clark was able to coordinate with the client to avoid this issue. Nonetheless, the client is too hard-headed and egoistic to actually change. As a result, VAs were abused despite the chances provided by Clark. He thought that by giving the client more chances after every plea that this abuse should no longer occur, everything will go well.

Unfortunately, it came to a point where John was contacted by the client and the latter actually wants to end the relationship with them. Why? The VAs already failed to meet her standards for she is asking the impossible already, such as finishing a five-hour worth of work in just an hour. This surprised John, for he is not aware of anything amiss with their VAs and the client.

In the end, John confronted Clark. The VA has no choice but to admit the mistake he did – he did not inform John the moment the client abused their rights as a VA. It should have been like that since John has more power to actually stop this incorrect behavior all along.

The result? John may have been disappointed with Clark, but the VA’s confession made him trust his employee more. He admitted that it is rare to find an employee who is brave enough to claim whatever error he has done, and ensure it will not be repeated going forward. The action also allowed John to actually lecture Clark on how to become a better employee, someone who is reputable and trustworthy.

As time went, Clark was able to handle client issues more effectively with John being involved whenever necessary. Knowing that when things get awry means John has to intervene, he became a more effective part of the team. He knew his boundaries and accepted there are things he should not handle by himself.

Apparently, the example situation may have been simple and not actually everyone’s expectation in terms of explaining the topic. However, it still successfully implied that admitting a mistake could result in a better situation in your work.