3.2 Dealing with mistakes

For many legal practitioners, a mistake is seen as a type of failure. The sense of letting yourself and/or others down can be difficult to handle. There may also be worries over the practical impact of your mistake (including, in some cases, the potential for disciplinary proceedings and/or negligence claims). This video demonstrates how a number of individual legal professionals' handle mistakes and difficulties.

Coping with mistakes and difficulties

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PAUL NEVIN

I have got a very good boss in the Marine consulate, who said to me many years ago when I started, everyone makes mistakes, but what I want you to do is to admit them. And that's scary at first, but liberating, ultimately. Because you don't sit and suffer alone, if you like. It lets you share stuff.

And almost always, when I have admitted a mistake or admitted that I don't understand something in the legal profession, the other side that I'm dealing with says, well, actually, I feel the same. So I'm dealing with a transaction with another solicitor who, I think, is far superior, far more qualified, far more intelligent than me, understands this particular piece of law so much better, and I'm not getting it.

And sometimes I just lift the phone and say, I don't really get this. And they say, and, well, it is tricky. I'm not so sure of myself. And that, I think, the ability to do that, to admit your weakness, becomes a strength.

AMANDA TRIPPLES

In relation to factors which affect barristers; I'm a civil practitioner, and that's probably what I'm best placed to speak about, although I think it applies to all areas of the bar. First of all, in terms of individual characteristics, many barristers are perfectionists. We are high achieving individuals. We a people who are used to doing well. And we put a lot of pressure on ourselves in terms of our performance.

Now, as a self-employed barrister, many people say, oh the old expression is, you're only as good as your last case. So something hasn't gone terribly well, it's very easy to blame yourself for that. Now, things don't go well for all sorts of reasons. You're a litigator; litigation is notoriously uncertain. Witnesses didn't come up to scratch. A document is disclosed you're not expecting. All sorts of different things can happen.

And actually, it's unlikely to be your fault. But it's very easy to take the blame and think it's you. So that's one issue. And it's very important to be able to see the bigger picture and be able to move on from that. Obviously, one's continually learning in terms of performance. We learn throughout our lives. But just because something hasn't gone well doesn't mean that's your fault.

So perfectionism and looking to do well all the time, I think creates a really big problem. And secondly, there is the demands of modern working life. So continual emails, requests from solicitors or clients in relation to aspects of a case. And I think it's the inability sometimes to be able to say, actually, I'm out of the office at 7 o'clock at night or out of the office after 5 o'clock at night. And not put your phone on one side and let that distract you.

Because, as we all know, if you read an email at 10 o'clock at night with something you don't want see in it, you just don't sleep very well. So that really does have an impact. And be able to create your own boundaries is a really important way of being able to deal with that. But I think that's another factor which puts pressure on people, and it makes-- unless you know how to deal with it or have a coping mechanism for dealing with it, you really-- that will affect your well-being.

STEPHANIE BELL

I think finding people who you can talk to honestly and having someone more senior who you have a relationship with so you can call them-- and it's something you need to do all the time when you're junior. But then, even as you kind of become more senior, it's always useful to have someone to talk things through with. An ethical issue, if you think you've made a mistake, or if you think that there's something that you could have done better, be able to talk it through with someone. That's incredibly valuable.

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The simple reality is that everyone is going to make a mistake every now and then, what is key is how you deal with the situation, and also what you learn from it. This blog post from The Law Society of England and Wales [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] gives useful advice which can be applied to most legal professionals

There may be some sectors of the profession, for example, if you are self-employed, a sole practitioner or a member of the judiciary, where you have limited support from others. If this is the case, you do need to think about whether you can identify anyone to act as a form of (formal or informal) mentor to assist when such issues arise or consider obtaining guidance from your regulatory or professional body perhaps.

In terms of emotional competence, it is important to think about how you regulate your emotional responses to avoid being overwhelmed by negative feelings. Instead of (or after!) panicking, take some time to calm yourself down, process your emotional responses and then focus on how to tackle the issue to develop a solution-oriented approach. Often taking some time to calm down allows you to think about situations more clearly and to identify the correct way of dealing with issues that have arisen. This is likely to involve apologising, speaking to others involved and trying to identify a solution. This video of Senior Lecturer in Mental Health, Dr Mathijs Lucassen, gives some practical tips on handling these issues.

Dealing with your emotional responses

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MATHIJS LUCASSE

I can think of three practical responses in terms of managing our responses when we've made mistakes. And the first of those is around thinking about this in context. So you've made a mistake. We're all human, and we'll make a mistake. There will be something that you've done wrong.

But how are you likely to feel about this in a week's time, I in six month's time, even in 10 year's time? If you think about this mistake or this failure in that sort of context, it can help put it into perspective, particularly if you're feeling really raw and challenged about it in the moment. The other is also about catastrophising, which is a type of cognitive distortion. We may warp our thinking about something. The mistake might feel like it's career ending.

But really, it's worth asking yourself, is this the end of your career? Is it the worst thing that's possibly happened to you? What is the worst thing that can happen as a result of this mistake?

It's not uncommon to ruminate, or to keep thinking about the mistake, and to sort of beat yourself up about it. But this is often not especially useful. What's more useful is to think about this mistake and what you might be able to learn. So it's lessons to learn from the mistake.

You may be able to minimise the mistake, as it's just recently happened, if it's recently happened. If you can't minimise the negative impacts of this mistake, what's really useful is to think about the lessons you've learned as a result of this. Because as I said, we're all human. You will make mistakes. This is just part of the human condition, and it's being able to learn from there and to move forward.

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In terms of professional resilience, the concept of a “growth mindset” can be valuable in this situation. Dweck (2017) argues there are two forms of mindset (ways of thinking about yourself). The first is a “fixed mindset” which assumes that you have a fixed intelligence, personality and character which you simply have to accept and live with. This leads individuals to constantly to seek to prove themselves – to demonstrate that they are smart, funny, loyal and so on. They may avoid challenges or chose not to put in effort (“what’s the point if things cannot change?”).

The alternative is to adopt a “growth mindset” and view these things as works in progress that can be developed and cultivated through your efforts and the support of others. Dweck argues that “… everyone can change and grow through application and experience” (2017, p. 4). This leads to individuals embracing challenge and putting in effort to improve themselves. This is only a very brief introduction to the theory (and in some situations feeling you have to constantly strive to improve yourself could be very unhealthy). However, the idea of a “growth mindset” can help when tackling mistakes or, as demonstrated by the following video, when managing rejection.

Managing rejection

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KHYATI JOSHI

I have not let rejection get the better of me. I have not let that diminish my confidence or let that value my credibility. And therefore, I have pursued obtaining the rights of audience, if not through the bar, then through CILEx regulation. Have a positive mindset and know that you want to achieve, you want to do better, and you will, with time.

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Adopting a growth mindset

Scenario 1

It’s Monday morning and you are about to go to court…

You think – “This will be stressful, but I’ve done my prep”.

You do – Walk into court right on time outwardly appearing very calm.

You feel – Nervous, but also a bit excited (because of the challenge ahead).

Versus

You think – “I’ve been preparing all weekend, but I can’t cope with this, it’s too much for me”.

You do – Get a coffee and wait in the cold some distance away from court.

You feel – Increasingly panicky and down.

Scenario 2

It’s 4pm on Wednesday afternoon and a senior employee asks you to review four boxes of papers for 9am on Thursday…

You think – “I must show I can do this, I don’t want to look like I’m not committed.”

You do – Work until 1.30am and come back into work for 7.30am to finish off.

You feel – Tired and worried that you’ve missed something.

Versus

You think – “I know I can do this, but I need the time to do it properly”.

You do – Speak to the senior employee and negotiate a revised timescale for lunchtime on Thursday, leave the office at 7pm and come back at 8.30am.

You feel – Confident and better rested.

In each of these two scenarios, a fixed and growth mindset approach to the same problem has been outlined. You can see that the fixed mindset response may be about covering up perceived personal flaws or weaknesses and protecting yourself from shame and failure. This is based on the mistaken belief that you cannot improve or grow from the challenge.

The same scenario can give rise to a more productive growth mindset approach in which the stress or challenge can be handled and individuals may develop or grow as a result. The alternative growth mindset response also demonstrates a “reframing” of the problem. This is a powerful technique where we think differently about a problem and engage with it instead of allowing it to block our way.