Trivial errors that will bring you a material learning experience
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You know you’re in deep trouble when you’re crying inside a partner’s office in the middle of the day.
Few people know the story. Behind my usually calm demeanor, I have already cried several times on the field. I hate myself when I have to spill tears over mistakes. You guessed it right. I was a perfectionist.
I’ve already dropped that burden. I hope that you can drop yours, too. Mistakes happen a lot when you’re under pressure. Mistakes occur more frequently than you can stomach when you’re an accountant or auditor in one of those Big 4 firms.
In my seven seasons working for a Big 4, I’ve rounded up seven mistakes and lessons learned each season, which you can apply even if you’re not an auditor. I paired these mistakes with some insights from common household appliances that became part of my adventures from living and working solo.
You might think that seven is not a huge number. It is not. But after summing up, these trivial errors will bring you a material learning experience. I hope that you can use them to decide whether to take on audit as a future or permanent career.
1. Do not be a CCTV.
In my early years as an auditor, I ended up with some people who are CCTVs. They monitor every move. Personally, I don’t have a problem with these people. My problem begins when the constant checking disrupts my focus because I have to address their demands and provide updates every hour or so.
When I finally got my team to manage, I find myself close to being a CCTV, too. It happens when deadlines are near, and yet, no one bothers. I start fussing around.
Close-circuit monitoring might work for some. It rarely works for independent knowledge workers and high achievers. These people want autonomy and flexibility to do the job. If you don’t give it to them, you kill their motivation. You both fail.
If you feel that you’re being micromanaged, talk to the other person about it. Ask how often they want regular updates. Settle on a reasonable number between the two of you. Be proactive. Display early on that people can trust and rely on you.
If you’re a micromanager yourself, recognize when your behavior rattles people. Don’t hover. Don’t nitpick. Don’t get into the nitty-gritty yourself when you know that the other person is already doing it.
In this age of remote working, it might be harder to trust people. Still, be generous with your trust. If you’re receiving an output, it means your team is doing the work.
2. Track the expiration dates of food inside your refrigerator.
Have you ever forgotten a carton of milk inside your refrigerator? I did several times. Spoiled milk in cartons or bottles will make you cringe. Bloated, smelly stuff. You don’t want to put them in your coffee when you’re not paying attention.
Vegetables and leftovers also have short-term life spans inside my refrigerator, especially when it is the busy season. Not eating expired food is obvious. What’s not obvious is this: You should be able to track your tasks in the same way that you’re tracking food expiration.
Every project has an expiration date, too. Not having your system to track all your tasks and projects from start to finish will get you in trouble with these expiration dates. To avoid that trouble: (1) Identify the key deadlines at the start; (2) Get everyone’s alignment; (3) Plan your work around these dates.
Easy-peasy? It’s not as simple as you think. People often work with third-party imposed timelines. Then, we have self-imposed internal timelines, too. These are times when we cannot work because of other priorities. They are times when we are unable to concentrate because of internal and external conflicts. They are also moments of being too drained to do anything else.
Your internal timeline might be different from another. Your priority now might be someone’s priority only later. That’s why it’s important to identify the ultimate end dates or key deadlines. Some people might not be so good at telling you this. Do what you can when you’re asked to do it and expect what else might be coming along the end.
When you’re a newbie, you might find yourself saying “yes” to all sorts of tasks and responsibilities. It’s ok to accept them all when you have the capacity and when you have a clear deadline of when it’s needed from you. If not, you’ll end up with urgent tasks all the time.
When you start dealing with clients, you have to be upfront with the deadlines too. If you don’t align with them on the timeline, you might end up with unreasonable demands later in the season.
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3. Organize your dishwasher.
Before I started living on my own, I learned to handwash dishes as a proper household woman would. As much as I enjoy thinking while washing the dishes, it doesn’t hurt to delegate the washing to the dishwasher. It helps you free up your time to focus on the value-adding things (such as writing this blog).
Speaking of dishwashers, I didn’t know how to use one the first time. On to Youtube then. The instruction video came with these warnings. Put the knife handle up, tip down. Place the heavy dishes in the bottom. Make sure that the blade can spin without obstruction.
There’s a reason for these warnings. Your dishwasher must be able to operate to its maximum capacity. You would want to put plates in their proper places inside a dishwasher. You’ll want your teams to operate at maximum capacity, too. You would want to place people in their proper roles that match their strengths, experiences, and capabilities. Not delegating properly is a mistake.
4. Don’t burn a recipe in the electric stove.
It’s sometimes hard to estimate heat levels in an electric stove, especially when you’re cooking a new recipe. You might end up with a raw potato or a burned pan. You need the exact heat level. That level of estimation comes with experience.
But what if you’re a beginner cook?
My mom taught me to cook like this when I was young. She would snap directions. Set the heat level low. Toss the garlic first. Sautee until it’s brown and crispy and smells good. Pour the coconut milk last. When your fork can go through the skin, your meat is tender enough.
My mom acted like a live recipe book. If you’re a first-time cook, you only have two options to avoid a cooking disaster. Have your mom in the kitchen or have a recipe in your hand. You need either of them to set a clear vision and direction.
In the same way, not having a clear vision and direction with your team is a gross mistake. Your team will end up all over the place, doing scattered, uncoordinated work. Not identifying priorities early on gets everyone minding their own business, without thinking about the big picture. You might think you’re all cooking the same recipe but you’re not.
You need to set a mise en place with them. Mise en place is French for “putting in place”. It’s a concept that chefs use to prepare all ingredients that they need before they even start cooking. Your mise en place is the team’s outline of things to do, when to do them, which one should go first, and which one should go last.
Hit your priorities straight. Get your goals right. Keep your teams moving in the correct direction. Set the pace so that your teams will not get burned with tasks that they could have accomplished earlier. What you don’t need is my mom shouting at you to keep the heat low otherwise you’ll burn the garlic.
5. Use the vacuum cleaner.
There are nooks and crannies in a house that only a proper vacuum cleaner will be able to penetrate. Vacuum cleaners are experts at spotting and sucking dirt. Allow your vacuum cleaner to handle that part.
In audit as well, certain areas exist where you might need experts. Hesitating to approach people outside your area of expertise will lengthen the process. Ask questions. Engage an internal network with whom you can consult. Be aware of where to find resources. Get back to the guidance whenever you have to.
6. Don't get inside the washing machine unless you're prepared to handle it.
Have you ever watched a washing machine in a full cycle? The machine will soak and wring and spin and turn your clothes all twisted and semi-dry but clean, even so. Audit seasons are worse than washing machines. You get soaked, wrung, and spun until you’re a mess and very dry inside. Audit seasons can be tough like that.
That is why you need a method for releasing stress. You need to rid yourself of any toxicity. Clean your schedule for mental and physical well-being. Check that your support system exists, whether they are your friends or family. Not having that support system will make you crash and break something.
One of the mistakes that auditors and any other professional might do is to stock up so much guilt. You feel guilty when you’re not working overtime or on weekends when everyone else is doing the same. You think you’re the only one who can do the job so you have to stay so late or work on weekends.
If you have pinned the mistakes earlier in this blog, you will avoid putting yourself in that position. You will avoid feeling guilty because you knew you’ve been efficient and you’re doing what’s expected from you. You will not feel guilty about taking breaks because you’ve delivered the output according to your capacity.
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7. Don't be as dry as your dryer.
Speaking of washing machines, you’ll probably be using a dryer too, whether it’s for your hair or your laundry. Are you as dry as your dryer when interacting with people?
An audit is a serious job. It needs people who are keen to help businesses uphold the public’s trust. Thus, you need to be serious with your work. But, you don’t need to go as far as being too dry for your teams to the point of not creating enough connection with them. I committed this mistake at the very start and even now, I am still prone to committing the same.
Since I started working abroad, I have opened my mind to different cultures and personalities. I am tolerant of certain behaviors. I treat each encounter as a learning experience. I’ve learned that getting too personal with the team can impact decisions. The absence of connection makes others feel that you’re robots or cogs in a machine (or inanimate, household appliances).
The more diverse your team is, the higher the need for everyone to feel a sense of connection with everyone. You gain that connection by knowing each other and caring for every individual not just within work; but also outside.
Find your balance when it comes to developing work relationships. Know how much you want to share your personal life while staying professional.
In Summary
Here is a rundown of the common mistakes and how you can overcome them.
#1 Common mistake: Micromanaging independent and high achievers
How to overcome: If you’re the one being micromanaged, talk to the person. If you’re the micromanager, control your monitoring behavior within acceptable limits. Be generous with trust.
#2 Common mistake: Not having a system to track all your tasks, engagements, and key deadlines
How to overcome: No matter what level you are at, you need to create a high-level overview of your projects, the scope of work, and the timeline for each one. Audit, in particular, follows a predictable pattern. At some point, the audit will end and an opinion will get released. Anticipate these key deadlines.
#3 Common mistake: Not delegating enough and not delegating properly (according to people’s strengths, experience, and capabilities)
How to overcome: Identify people’s strengths, experiences, and capabilities. Match them to their tasks as closely as possible.
#4 Common mistake: Not having a clear vision and direction for your work
How to overcome: Create a mise en place. Get clear with the outcome and how you’re going to achieve it.
#5 Common mistake: Not using resources and experts to guide your work
How to overcome: Consult whenever you are not sure. Know where to find the resources and let them guide you.
#6 Common mistake: Getting soaked, wrung, and spun in tough situations with no way of breaking up your stress
How to overcome: Find something which brings you joy outside work. Spend happy moments with your friends and family without feeling guilty.
#7 Common mistake: Not building enough connections with people you work with
How to overcome: Treat each encounter as a learning experience. Do not treat people as cogs in a machine.
Fear of mistakes and staying within your comfort zone limits your growth. It’s ok to commit mistakes. It’s ok to take risks from time to time. You learn from them. Then, you apply the lessons moving forward.
If this article adds value to you and if you’d like to learn more about my international work adventures and misadventures, plus occasional tips and tricks on being a happy, and efficient knowledge worker, follow me on LinkedIn.
