Tips To Approach A Colleague Who Is Making Mistakes
If you consider your workplace a society in miniature, then your colleagues are the ones that neither your company nor can you do without. Just like in your society, you have to approach them cautiously, especially when some of them are making mistakes. Since these are sensitive issues, you need to ensure that they are not getting hurt, their ego is not coming in between you and you are not jeopardizing your professional relationship in the long run. Since they grey area between professional and personal relationships is wide and the limit is hard to define and equally hard to decide where to set, you should be always on the alert that things do not get messy. So, how do you take care of the most sensitive things- the mistakes that a colleague is making? How do you approach a colleague who is making mistakes?
Colleagues are those who you cannot do without. Whether you like it or not, you will have to see them every day, face them very frequently and deal with them every now and then. So, it is not wise to cross with these people who you have to interact with on a regular basis. Following are some tips to approach a colleague who is making mistakes:
· When a colleague is making mistakes unconsciously: there may be many reasons why the colleague is making the mistake unconsciously. For example, he or she may be a new face in the company and has not yet been able to accustom properly to the company culture. When the situation is as such, then you don’t have to go a long way to extend a helping hand; neither do you have to ponder over how he or she may react. There are two reasons why. Firstly, no matter what designation may the colleague bear, higher or lower than yours, in terms of experience or time, he or she is junior to you. In such cases, people feel a bit out of place in the new office and take quite some time to get used to the custom. So, if you want to help them out by giving them a demonstration on how to do the work properly (which they are not doing correctly) or advice them on doing it the proper way or merely pointing out in a sober manner that they are committing a mistake will help a lot. It will be appreciated by the colleague and will work as a practical orientation of the work place. Moreover, the ice between the new colleague and you will melt and you will be able to bond properly and help them let go of their discomfort quite easily. Secondly, new colleagues will not take anything by heart as they know that no matter how much the outside world they have witnessed, they are novice in the company, any advice coming from the existing employees will come as warm welcoming sign. So, just go on and extend a helping hand, in any form that you think is appropriate and does not present you as judgmental. For instance, the help may be offered in public, in private, through a mail etc. Don’t act too cold or too intrusive.
· When a colleague is making mistakes deliberately: there are often instances where a colleague may commit a mistake intentionally, probably to hurt another colleague or to hurt the company image etc. No matter what the reason may be, if it is immoral then as a human being, it is your duty to approach your colleague who is making the mistake even if you do not want to assume any responsibility as a part of the company system. No matter who this person is, first of all, you need to approach them personally and try to talk to them into a solution and keep them from doing so. If it’s a senior then you do not have much to do apart from letting another senior know and ask them to approach them. If the mistake is quite crucial in nature and you do not want to risk your career then it will be wise for you to make a pact and then approach the colleague who is making the mistake.
These are some safe tips to approach a colleague who is making a mistake. If you abide by these then you will not assume any problem in your professional life and will still be able to keep the relationship smooth in between.
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