4 ways to make amends with your colleague

Miscommunication, errors, misunderstandings are all a part and parcel of life and that includes your professional life as well.

We all make mistakes and possibly a new one everyday. We can always apologise, say sorry and get on with life but at work, how do you say it or show it?

Here are 5 steps that can help you in making amends with your colleagues.

1. Be sincere
If you are saying sorry it has to look genuine and with sincerity. You have to mean it when you do. We all can tell when the other is not apologetic of his/her actions. You are simply being disrespectful and losing points with your colleague by not doing so. No matter how small or big the damage was.

2. Take the responsibility
If you have messed up a certain situation or something you know deep down you can help rectify then help! You must take up the responsibility to clean your own created mess. Don’t get defensive, that proves you do not have the confidence to own up to your mistakes.

3. Understanding and validating feelings
You are apologising for a reason – you did something wrong and the impact of that action is what the other is feeling. You must validate, acknowledge and understand their position. It could be a situation where you cannot even put yourself in another person’s shoes. Try to communicate and articulate. Admit your wrong deed and how you must have jeopardised a situation for them. This is one big step to making amends.

4. You cannot avoid it
You cannot be not addressing the elephant in the room. You have to someday acknowledge the fact that you did something wrong voluntarily or involuntarily and that it hurt the other! Why avoid a situation when it can be addressed? If you do not share a relationship where you can easily walk up to the other person and say sorry then be a bit candid like “I know this is little out of place/ awkward but I owe you an apology/ I need to apologise/ I want to say I am sorry”.

5. Solutions
Okay now that you have apologized, try to help them rectify the situation. Think of ways or brainstorm with him/her. But do ask before you get your head into it. You could suggest ways to avoid any such situation again in the future but then make sure it does not happen again.