DEAR HARRIETTE: I completed a project for work, checked it multiple times and turned it in. I was feeling pretty confident about my work, too. Then I did one last review and noticed a grammatical error. I know that my boss hates that, and he needs to be able to send out this project to other team members and to our client. Should I update it and send a clean version? I hesitate just because it is a small error, and maybe nobody will notice it. Bringing it to his attention may cost me my job, or at least the humiliation of him pointing out my flaws -- again. -- Bad Grammar
DEAR BAD GRAMMAR: I say revise the document and send it to your boss at once with a note pointing out the correction. What is most important to your boss is being accurate. He needs to be able to trust that you can turn in clean work, and that if you make a mistake, you are willing to own it and fix it at once. Yes, you run the risk of him chastising you about the error, but it’s way better for that to happen internally than for the company to be exposed to a client as having made this mistake. Chances are, your boss will look favorably upon you for double-checking, finding the error, fixing it and reporting it at once.