“A couple of weeks ago, I made a mistake at work. It was the result of a lapse of concentration and while it had no negative impact on the company, it was noted by our client before it was corrected. The issue didn’t go any further, but I want to take responsibility and own up to my boss regardless. How do I admit the error without seeming incompetent? Or is it better to let it pass quietly and do better in the future?”

I am impressed by how considerate you are about your mishap. From what you say, there’s a good chance that staying quiet about the matter would not cause you or the company any damage. Yet it’s understandable that you are a little tortured by your sense of guilt. Because the error was noted by a client before it was corrected, there’s a worry that this client will mention it to one of your bosses. And I’m guessing you’d prefer to tell the boss yourself rather than risk being outed by a client. 

On the one hand, you made a mistake and seemingly got away with it; on the other, it will always be at the back of your mind that your boss is waiting for you to say something. The whole affair seems to be gnawing at your insides so I empathise with your desire to fess up and move on.

I think your sense of responsibility is commendable. Any boss worth their job title will agree with me, so I don’t think you have anything to fear by coming clean. It’s best to explain what happened as simply as possible in exactly the way you have to me. Start the conversation by admitting that something has been bothering you for a while and you’d like to discuss the matter openly. Explain how there was no long-term harm caused, but you wanted your boss to know about it because you’re happy to be accountable. 

What’s important is not the fact that you made a mistake but that you’re being transparent about it and are showing a strong sense of personal responsibility. Essentially, you’re confiding in a more experienced person in order to learn from your misstep. You’d like to know the correct protocol to follow when something like this happens. Your boss should appreciate your wish to improve your performance, as well as the fact that you’re clearly someone with a strong sense of right and wrong. It takes courage as well as honesty to own up to any miscalculation, and those are values that any sensible boss would want from a team member.

The truth is that mistakes are expected to happen in any organisation. The litmus test for any company is how it responds when errors occur. Crisis management demands skilled leadership: an admirable manager is transparent about a problem when it occurs and then urges the team to pull together to find solutions.

It’s the process of recovery that separates excellence from average. You have been understandably reticent about your mistake so far, but unburdening yourself now will stand you in good stead for the future.

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