So let your F-up flag fly — in a smart way. Discussing the topic plays out in three ways, Santone adds. In the first, people tell her they’ve never made a mistake (something she describes as "scary"). In the second, people say: "This is the mistake I made, and this is how I corrected it." And in the third, people admit that they made an initial mistake, followed by another misstep, and then they explain what they learned. For example, they might say, "I had a bad situation in which _____. I then tried to _____, but that didn’t work. So, now I’ve learned that next time I’m going to actually talk to my boss in advance and give them the heads up, instead of surprising them with the bad news."