Need some hugs and laughs...

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like you screwed everything up?

Try almost a week

I had a strong front going at work. Just had my yearly review last week - got praises and a pay raise. Things were going well for year two at work.

This week? I think my boss just lost all faith in me.

First off, earlier in the month I had a major deadline to meet with the client. Unfortunately it didn't go too well. While most of the reasons why it went wrong wasn't directly because of me - I'm the lead on the project, so when something goes wrong, everyone points to me.

I did not handle the fallout well. While I did everything I reasonably could, due to some major miscommunications, the client was under the impression that I wasn't doing anything about it...and notified my boss about it.

To make matters worse, I didn't notify my boss or the client about what was really going on - due to the next deadline being really close (next week!) I didn't make explaining what happened my priority.

Big Mistake

I talked to my boss today and he was very disappointed about the miscommunications on my part. If I had been more proactive in explaining what was going on, the client wouldn't have the bad perception about myself, my boss and our company. At this point the client wants to fire us off the project.

So to sum it up: I did not prioritize correctly and I was not as open in communicating as I should have been. The client's perception of me and the company deteriorated to a point where people think I'm not doing anything at all to finish the project. I should have stood up and explained the situation instead of letting it die off...

Just a horrible way to end the week...

Thanks all.

What hurts is not so much that it happened (after all I'm human - we all make mistakes), but rather it happened just a week after my boss was telling me how I have become such a better employee after my first year...only to make such a stupid mistake.

What kills me too is that my boss is always talking about how we have to put ourselves in a good light and always be open with the client. I (unintentionally) broke all those.

The only bright spot (I suppose) is I have an opportunity to gain the client's trust again soon - as I said another deadline approaching. But I got to get all this out of my system first...

Silver King said:

If you haven't already, you should communicate this to your boss, and explain to him that it won't happen again. He will appreciate your honesty and understand that you've learned a valuable lesson that will help to make you an even better employee in the future.

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Of course. Thanks for the advice.

I had no reason to lie to him. I didn't point fingers and I admitted where I went wrong. Next week I plan to take the initiative and write out some sort of "lessons learned" thing and show what corrective actions I am going to take (example, having a stand-up with the client every day or other day to make sure expectations are clear between us and this sort of miscommunication never happens again)

bettielee said:

Just knuckle down and focus!! I tell you, one success and the past is forgotten.

Don't take anything for granted, and really follow up with all those people that are under you/the people you've delegated things to

I always find a big white board with stuff written on it helps.... or maybe that's just me...

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That's a good idea. It was a stressful week plus the move-in. I was juggling lots of items. Of course, excuses are just that - excuses. I have to keep up with my client's expectations.

As I said earlier I'm going to make sure the client and all those under me keep up to date. If a deadline is missed again, then I want to show I did everything in my power and kept everyone up to date.

Ari Meermans said:

{{big ol' hugz}}

It happens. More often than not it happens to the doers--we turn all focus to rectifying the problems rather than communicating what we're doing.

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Exactly! I can pout all I want that I was working on the problem or looking for ways to prevent it from happening again.

Problem is - no one else knew about it. This made the client think I was just goofing off and just started a whole mess.

Ari Meermans said:

Right. So now you know both the client AND your boss are going to need some hand-holding to prevent their hand-wringing. And, since you know that, it won't happen again. It's a pain but it's the only way.

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Right. I have a chance to redeem myself next week, so let's see how it goes!

Silver King said:

I like how SC is owning up to the problem and not trying to find excuses to hide behind. Much of what he's said here can be directly communicated to his boss with positive results.

As someone once said, It's not how you fall down that matters, but how you pick yourself back up that counts.

Or something like that...

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Thanks for that. I hold myself to high expectations and excuses are just that - excuses.

I'm hoping success next week + a corrective plan of action will show my boss how serious I am about making things right.

The project's final product is due in April. We're all rushing to get it ready in time. Time's are tough and everyone's looking for someone to point at. It's crazy but once April comes and goes - people will hopefully forget what happened in January.

I really appreciate all the comments. My weekend seems a little better already!

swachski said:

Hugs to you, SC. Sometimes we need things like this to happen to help us grow as individuals. It sounds like you've gained some valuable insights in communication this week, and that will be beneficial in the long run.

As far as helping you with some laughs...... I hope you don't wear what you have on in your avie to work. It might put people on the defensive.

Sorry, it's the best I could think of...

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Bwahahaha! I feel like my boss was dressed like that when talking to me yesterday. Maybe if people aren't taking me seriously...I might come in as that (though they may then take me even less seriously).

Thanks for that though! I laughed!

Ctairo said:

So you made a rookie error, and you know better. As much as failing hurts (And ow! The timing was horrendous, but that's the way it goes more often than not. Must be a rule.), you've already turned a negative experience into a growth opportunity.

I tip my hat to you. Also, I'm taking notes.

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Thank you for that! The thing is, this sort of experience applies to almost any job in general, not just the field I'm in. You have a customer who needs to be happy and know you are giving it your all. Leaving them in the dark is a terrible thing to do.

As I was looking back as to why this all happened, I realized that before things got all hectic (prior to the new year), the amount of communication was sufficient. Now that the product's final deadline is less than three months away, things are going to get hectic and I need to keep up. Things were changing by the month, now it's every two weeks.

I appreciate everyone for being open ears to me. I think by letting all of this out, I've managed to figure out how to properly go on from this experience.