Reply to What to do when VP schedules meeting to "debrief" on error you made?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

So what was the actual source of the error?  Is it a typo?  Incorrect info you guessed but didn't have time to fact check?  It is unreasonable to send everything you do through a secondary review of everything in it... you need to get better at proofing yourself in that case.  But maybe it's reasonable to get an escalation/review process if it's something you had to guess on or otherwise couldn't find the info.   [/quote]

Yes, it was the result of reading a policy and turning that into a financial calculation, which it turns out that I misinterpreted, even though at the time I felt pretty sure that I had interpreted it correctly.  If I felt uncertain about it, I definitely would have at least flagged it or tried to find someone to check it for me, but in this instance I felt pretty sure.  So much of my job involves me guessing at things (I do financial modeling) and combing through vague policies and statements and turning that into projections.  There is possibility for this type of error all the time.  Without more resources to perform secondary reviews/QA's of my work, the risk of making errors like this will probably not go away.  The best I can think to do is to own the mistake, apologize that I didn't interpret correctly, and suggest that next time we should have one of our experts review it (even though I will be saying that tongue in cheek, because our experts have repeatedly declined to support me due to their resource constraints).  Yes, I know I have been set up for failure in my job, it's not a great place to be.[/quote]

So maybe there's answer in here like clarifying the policy, creating training around the policy, or creating a secondary review just of that policy.  The fact that you have tried but been unable to get secondary support from related experts is also important information.

But in all of this, you have to turn a critical eye on yourself... Would anyone in this role have failed here?  Is everyone else like you having the same issues?  Then it's structural and you are set up to fail.  If there are others navigating this successfully, what are they doing differently?

Bottom line, be truly self-reflective about your role in this, own the error and express a genuine desire to make efforts to do better, come with constructive ideas both to address any issues you can personally address, as well as structural ideas for improvement on a wider scale.[/quote]

Thanks so much PP for talking me through this!!!  I think I've got my approach together.  I'm going to own the mistake, express that I genuinely was trying to help and am lamenting the oversight, explain how our typical process has worked in the past with secondary review, and how unfortunately that support has not been available this go-round and that I've truly tried to do my best in the vacuum.

Ugh, this VP is a total jerk but I know I need to be a calm, collected sounding board for his vent on this one :)[/quote]

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