Question:

I work alongside a colleague who uses an incorrect word for a key task in our business and makes the same mistake again and again. The first few times I heard the mistake, I thought it was just difficulty with pronunciation. (Years ago, I worked in a job where I needed to use the word “phenomenon” more than is probably usual, and found it a challenge, so I know what that feels like.)

But it turns out this isn’t about pronunciation. It’s a wider lack of knowledge. And because this person has a customer-facing role, it has the potential to be embarrassing.

I brought it up quietly with a senior colleague who told me they had already discussed the mistake with this person, but it hadn’t changed anything. Do we need to be more direct?

Answer:

Not too many questions we get here at Work Therapy have super simple answers. Some, in fact, point to really complex problems or systemic failures that can’t possibly be solved with a nifty little tip or a hint. And while I don’t think this one is necessarily easy, I do think there’s a clear either/or aspect to the situation.

Either the knowledge required to use the correct word has been offered to this person but ignored (perhaps even deliberately forgotten), or it remains missing for a more innocent reason. I would proceed differently depending on which is true.

I think we’ve all come across a co-worker whose stubbornness or certainty that “I know better” turns them into a workplace recidivist. If we’re honest, we can all probably remember a time when our own obstinacy made us do something at work (perhaps repeatedly) that we look back on with embarrassment. But the fact that folding our arms, harrumphing internally and deciding to do it our way is fairly standard human behaviour doesn’t change reality: when “our way” is objectively the wrong way, we cause annoyance, frustration and even major problems.

As you’ve made clear in your question, you’re the sort of person who can put yourself in someone else’s shoes. So, my advice would be that if you know for certain your workmate is aware they’re making a mistake but persisting regardless, yes, be direct. Firm even. But make use of your empathy at the same time. It’s true the mistake-maker has been told what the error is, but they might not understand how that error comes across to others or the damage it could have on reputations – their own and the organisation’s.