Great article and thoughts, Kathi.
One time after making a really big goof, I thought I was going to catch no end of being yelled at. Still, it was important that my boss know the mistake I made and what I was doing to fix it so that he wouldn't also get into trouble. To make a much longer story shorter, my boss liked my plan for fixing the problem I created but I continued to apologize. He told me to stop and said "Look... if you never make a mistake, it means that I'm not pushing you hard enough. You've done well in the past and I wondered when you'd finally make a mistake. Do you need any help fixing it?"
I was gob smacked at his understanding.
That should also be a lesson to some bosses especially if they have folks "living on the edge" for getting things done as fast as possible. It's an old Navy saying... Don't let one "aw-shit" wipe out a thousand "atta-boys". Embrace the absolute honesty and integrity of the person who just put their head on the proverbial chopping block for you.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.