Many offices in the Bright Way have a master-apprentice dynamic. Hearthkeepers have acolytes, Knights of the Sun have squires, Farspeaker anchorites have apprentices.
All of these have a similar tradition when showing a newbie the ropes. While demonstrating a routine task, the master will deliberately make a small but visible mistake. A senior squire may strip a screw head, a hearthkeeper may replace a fuse with one with a lower current rating causing it to blow, an anchorite may mistype a network address causing a loop in the network. The master will offhandedly comment on the error, almost as though talking to herself.
“Oops, I used the wrong fuse…” etc.
She will then correct the error. This is to teach the newbie a lesson.
- Even seasoned professionals make mistakes.
- You're new, so I expect you to make mistakes, too.
- I want you to feel comfortable asking me for help if you think you've made a mistake.
- Don't wallow in your failures, but rather learn from them and grow.