Become a student of error. When was the last time you made a mistake? I did a few minutes ago. Some are large. Most are small. Many mistakes you just ignore. But then there are those that create a lasting memory. You know the ones I mean. When we make a mistake like that, we are faced with two choices: We can beat ourselves up by saying something like, “How could I have been so stupid?” Or we can take a step back and ask, “What can I learn from this?”
If you’re watching this, chances are you are focused on learning from your mistakes. But how about the people you supervise? Becoming a student of error requires a certain level of maturity and perspective, and I’m not talking about age. If you consider the customer agents you oversee, you can probably pick out the ones who have this maturity. But how about the others? Beating yourself up over mistakes distorts decision-making because you become obsessed with not making a mistake rather than making choices based on thoughtful reasoning. So, teach your people to ask, “What can I learn from this?” when something goes wrong. Become a broken record on this issue and, over time, you’ll get all those working for you to become students of error.