Embracing Your Mistakes is Key to Growth

RCS Influencer Tammy Hall says that past mistakes make for great learning opportunities. 

When I started at CFS Roofing Services I had never been involved in the roofing industry. My background was marketing, advertising, community outreach and consensus building. My role was to be marketing development and implementation. Well, when you start with a start-up company those defined roles shift quickly. After being in the office an hour, I was asked if I could jump back to the newly formed service division to assist with administration. The service manager was fired, and the administrative person was leaving the next day. That transition was not straightforward.   

Coming from a family owned business and running my own business for 25 years, I was used to jumping in where needed. I normally would assess the situation, develop a plan, then work the plan. My first mistake was I didn’t make a plan! My insecurity over my industry knowledge and not wanting to offend anyone created a situation where I worked more than 65 hours a week. I tried to manage all aspects of the department and gave my coworker a pass on him fulfilling his responsibilities. My advice to myself looking back now would have been to work smarter not longer. If I had been productive and organized, cut down the hours to normal and set the expectation with my coworker, I believe I would have gotten the same results.     

Another mistake was holding on to people for too long out of loyalty. It’s been my experience that the hardest part of management is letting go of people you really care for, but that are not doing their jobs. I have always been a very hands-on manager; I am involved in each new hire, and I review and engage with the staff regularly. I believe in strong communication and setting expectations, but I have been guilty of lagging on necessary terminations. I have experienced how much of a detriment it is to the rest of the team. As hard as it is, I needed to communicate the fraction or issue, set the consequence, and then follow through. Working as a team works if everyone is treated fairly.   

I could go on with more mistakes, but they want these articles to be short. I have learned over time to embrace my mistakes and look at them as character builders. The real lesson is to learn from them and not repeat them. While mistakes can be painful and expensive, they are also teachers, and I am forever grateful for their instruction.    

Tammy Hall is the director of marketing and service division for CFS Roofing Services LLC. See her full bio here.