Significant Career Lesson From a People Programs and Operations Lead at Alphabet
Michelle, a People Programs & Ops Lead at Alphabet Inc., emphasizes the career-defining lesson of immediately owning up to mistakes: "bring attention to it on your own immediately," proactively identifying the problem, understanding its cause, proposing a solution, and learning from the experience to build trust and stronger working relationships.
Mistakes and Accountability, Professionalism, Problem-Solving, Communication, Relationship Building
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Michelle Lowry
People Programs & Ops Lead
Alphabet Inc. Company
University of California, Davis
N/A
Psychology
Aerospace, Aviation & Defense, Technology
Human Resources (HR)
Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Greek Life Member, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Taking ownership of mistakes builds trust and helps develop skills.
2. Addressing mistakes proactively demonstrates responsibility and problem-solving abilities.
3. Learning from mistakes is crucial for professional growth and building strong workplace relationships.
Transcript
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
Very early on, someone told me to always own up to mistakes, and that has stayed with me through all of my positions. When you find that you've done something wrong, bring attention to it on your own immediately.
Don't wait for someone else to discover it or shy away from it. Figure out what happened and make sure you understand why it went wrong. Then, have a solution ready.
Bring it to your manager or whoever is in charge of the project you're working on. Learn from it, because I think it builds trust and helps you develop your own skills. Everyone makes mistakes; that's going to happen all the time in every job.
If you can own your mistakes, learn from them, and grow, and have a solution for them, it will really help you build relationships with people in the workplace.