RIGHT AWAY: FESS UP Admit your mistake as soon as it comes to light. Don’t wait around for the error to be found out, in the hope that maybe it simply won’t. By owning up to the misstep proactively, your boss will be more confident that you’ll come forward in the future whenever there’s a problem. That creates trust. After all, error is inevitable. You’ll never get through your entire career without making any mistakes. And chances are, your boss has made a few mistakes over the years as well.

RIGHT AWAY: FESS UP

Admit your mistake as soon as it comes to light. Don’t wait around for the error to be found out, in the hope that maybe it simply won’t. By owning up to the misstep proactively, your boss will be more confident that you’ll come forward in the future whenever there’s a problem. That creates trust. After all, error is inevitable. You’ll never get through your entire career without making any mistakes. And chances are, your boss has made a few mistakes over the years as well.

THE SAME DAY: ZERO IN ON A SOLUTION

As soon as you admit your mistake, start looking into what you can do to make it better. This is something you want to do in that same initial conversation with your boss, right after conceding your error. Ask how you can help play damage control, and maybe come armed with an idea or two. Then let your boss decide the best course of action.

BY THE END OF THE WEEK: SHOW HOW YOU’RE LEARNING TO DO BETTER

That doesn’t mean that winning back your boss’s trust is only a matter of the steps you take right away. After you’ve done everything you can to repair the damage in the immediate aftermath, it’s time to figure out how to do the work better in the future. Ask other people in the organization to check your work the next time. Find people who do your job well and take them out for coffee. Watch videos and read articles online (like this one) to make sure you’re figuring out how to improve.

FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE: TRY NOT TO MAKE THAT SAME MISTAKE AGAIN

Finally, none of these other steps matter if you keep making the same mistake over and over again. Now that you’ve learned what it’ll take to avoid the mistake, you’ve got to put in the effort to actually avoid it. Nothing will undermine your relationship with your boss faster than cleaning up a mess and then making the same mess all over again