Mistakenly Courageous: Mitigating Mistakes at Work

This month, Dr. Brené Brown debuted a Netflix special called Brené Brown: A Call to Courage. Along with her previously successful Ted talks about vulnerability and shame, it seems the connected world is buzzing with these formerly taboo topics. This got me thinking about how vulnerability, courage, and shame might apply to my daily life as a fundraiser and database guru. 

I make mistakes. Not all the time, but I'm human, so often enough. (There are literally thousands of articles in the Blackbaud Knowledgebase to help fix mistakes). Sometimes it's a user-error in Raiser's Edge, and other times, it's the voice I use expressing myself in social media. (Here's a link to some tips to help keep social media social). Feeling shame when making mistakes can keep me from putting myself in the proverbial "out-there" or from moving the needle forward on my own best practices. Even with the little stuff, I want to be courageous. 
With that in mind, here are three easy steps to mitigate mistakes at work:
1. Take a deep breath and realize everything is okay. 
2. Be willing to admit when you've missed the mark. 
3. Learn! Plant to prevent a repeat.

We are all human. Brené Brown's approach to these heavier topics is something we Blackbaud-users can relate to --she uses data (be still my heart) to show that vulnerability is the key to courage. So, I'm okay with making mistakes as long as I can own the shame that comes with it. Every day is a new chance to answer the call to courage. We got this.

 
Check out more from Dr. Brown here: https://brenebrown.com/articles/2019/04/26/book-read-first/.