"When I started in my current role, my supervisor sent me an email with instructions on a data entry project. Though there were areas I felt uncertain of the directions, I didn't want to bother her with a bunch of questions or seem incompetent. I assumed I knew what my supervisor was asking, completed the project, and emailed it to her. It turns out I had misunderstood a large piece of the assignment, and all of my information was entered incorrectly, which meant I had wasted about four hours of my time on this. I realized that I shouldn't have been embarrassed to ask questions and that I should have gone to her to make sure I understood the expectations before starting the project. That lesson has stuck with me, and I know it's better to ask questions and seek to thoroughly understand than make a mistake and have to do the work over again."