Correction
Recently I was getting ready to submit a loan file to underwriting for a client who had gone under contract, and I was reviewing it with my shared assistant. We had already collected most of the documents needed and were getting close to being done and ready to submit. While we were reviewing it though my assistant noticed something wrong with some of the calculations.
I had made an inputting error, and once she pointed it out, it basically caused the file to not work anymore. And we were under contract and had already approved the borrower! We both tried some things to correct it but couldn’t quite get it back on track.
Then, she realized something from working on another file with a different loan officer she supports that she thought might work. And it did! We were able to get it back to approval status and moved the file forward to underwriting without any problems.
When she found the error I had made I was somewhere upset. Not with her, I’m glad she found it! But with myself for making the error and potentially messing everything up so much that my borrower could not buy her house. I was so thankful she found it but even more thankful for her finding a solution so we could move everything forward.
How do you react when you get corrected at work?
Do you accept the correction gracefully or lash back at the person who points it out and immediately try and defend yourself?
I didn’t like her finding the mistake I had made, because it put the whole deal in jeopardy. I handled it “somewhat” ok; I didn’t get upset with her but my mind got fixated on the error while hers went to finding a solution. Fortunately we got it done but not without frustration on my part.
A Real Christian Businessman knows that when we get corrected at work we have only two ways to react – positive or negative. The best way to react is to take the correction, learn and try and make the situation better.
“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.” Prov 12:1 (ESV)
Next time you are working on something and someone points out a mistake, remember to take it with a grain of salt. Don’t take it personal and quickly move on to get things corrected. I know this is easier said than done but it’s worth the effort if we can.