Thursday, January 22, 2009

I'm sorry

Often in times of conflict an apology is all that is needed to diffuse a situation.

An employee can apologise on behalf of a workplace, rather than apologising for something they have personally done.  I remember doing this when I worked for the Railways & the person complaining consoled me by saying "It's OK, it's not your fault".

Likewise, it's possible to say sorry that a situation had occurred.  Again, it's not taking personal responsibility but acknowledging the disappointment of an event.  This is useful if each party blames the other.  An apology can open the door to constructive dialogue.

Finally, if you are responsible - fess up & apologise - fix it - learn from it - and then move on positively!


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