Handling Mistakes Gracefully as a Developer

You are going to make mistakes during your development career and that is normal! In this episode we discuss how making a mistake helps you improve as long as you approach the blunder with a learning mindset. We talk about why development mistakes happen, what to do when you make one and tips for how to avoid repeating the same mistakes. You're always going to make mistakes, so you might as well make new ones!

Benefits of making mistakes

Provide a learning experience
Eliminates methods that do not work
Identifies areas of “unknowns”

How to avoid the same mistakes

Calculate is a mistake is likely by reviewing risks and unknowns
Avoid assumptions and clarify miscommunications by responding with “What I heard was...”
Timebox new approaches to test if they are viable.

What to do when you make mistakes

Own it! Do not try and cover it up
Apologize (if appropriate) and do not cast unwarranted blame
Offer next steps for moving forward

What to do when others make mistakes

Provide encouragement and support
Do not condemn, keep communication open to understand why it happened
Reaffirm that everyone (even you) make mistakes

Key Takeaways

You are going to make mistakes, every developer does.
Mistakes are not all negative, they can be positive learning experiences.
Avoid mistakes by not making assumptions and communicating as much as possible.
Never cover up mistakes. Apologize, own them and offer a way forward.

Episode Links

Blackbird Doughnuts
The Benefits Οf A Mistake-Driven Learning Approach

** Listener Challenges**

Can you tell us how pop-filters work? Email us at [email protected]
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Next challenge you face ask yourself: do you have wiggle room to try something new?
Let us know how you avoid making mistakes
Let us know what steps you take after making a mistake
Email us an example of a time you learned a valuable development lesson after making a mistake.

Previous Episodes Mentioned

Using D.U.M.B goals and S.M.A.R.T goals to grow your development career
To get more done as a developer you need a personal task management system.
The three key phrases you need to know to be a great developer.