anger

Most all of us have had the unfortunate experience of giving offense to another person and regretting it the instant the words left our mouths.  And if it happened in a flash of anger and high emotion on both sides, the regret may not materialize until passions have cooled.

Too many people think that the offended party will eventually “get over” the situation and take no steps to repair the damage.  This is a mistake.  Working as well as personal relationships remain affected even if everything appears fine.

I think a big contributor to the reluctance to address the challenge lay in the fact that many of us do not know how to apologize effectively.  What if we appear weak?  Worse, what if we bungle it and make the situation worse than it already is?

Here is an article by Mark Goulston for the Harvard Business Review that gives great guidance on effective apologies.  I highly recommend it.