How to apologise

1. Quotable quote

"Accept your role as apologist-in-chief. You’re the boss, which to your employees makes you the voice of the company. That means you’ll be sometimes called upon to apologise for things you may have had nothing to do with. If an employee is shown to have been sexually harassed, for example, extend an apology on behalf of the company. Be sensitive to such situations. Your employees will feel like you’re supporting them against the bureaucracy."

2. Here's an idea

Do you know when to apologise? The key is to listen to your inner voice.

Adding numbers incorrectly is one kind of mistake; setting unrealistic deadlines for staff is another. And then there are situations that just don’t feel right - such as when you lose your temper at a meeting, snap at a colleague because you have a headache, or stoop to sarcasm when you run out of patience. The little voice in your head will squark enough to call your attention to most transgressions. When you hear it, heed it - and apologise.

3. Viewpoint

"Managers who never apologise are diminished. Employees know that no one is perfect and lose respect for managers who can’t accept that. As one employee asked about her boss: ‘Is it that he doesn’t know when he screws up, that he’s too dumb to know, or that he’s too big a coward to admit it?’" …