Supervisor Foundations · Lesson 4.9

REPAIR DAMAGE AFTER A POORLY HANDLED CORRECTION

Supervisors make mistakes too.

A supervisor may:

react too quickly
accuse before checking facts
raise their voice
correct someone publicly when privacy was possible
use inappropriate language
misunderstand what happened

Being the supervisor does not make the mistake disappear.

Repair may require acknowledging it.

Poor

“I am the supervisor. I do not need to apologize.”

Better

“I handled that conversation poorly. I corrected you publicly before I had all the information. That was not appropriate. The performance issue still needs to be discussed, but I should have handled the conversation differently.”

Notice something important:

Apologizing for HOW the correction was handled does not necessarily remove the underlying accountability issue.

Both can be true.

WORKPLACE EXAMPLES

EXAMPLE 1

A supervisor blames an employee for an error and later discovers another department caused it.

BETTER RESPONSE

The supervisor should correct the record.

EXAMPLE 2

A manager raises their voice during a legitimate performance conversation.

BETTER RESPONSE

They can acknowledge the inappropriate tone while still discussing the performance problem.

EXAMPLE 3

A supervisor discusses confidential performance information where coworkers can hear.

BETTER RESPONSE

They should acknowledge the error and avoid repeating it.

EXAMPLE 4

A supervisor gives an incorrect instruction and later criticizes the employee for following it.

BETTER RESPONSE

The supervisor should own their part before addressing any remaining issue.

Remember

Authority does not remove responsibility for your own behavior.

Workplace action

Practice: “I was wrong about ______.” “I should have handled ______ differently.” “The remaining issue we still need to address is ______.”

Quick Check

A supervisor publicly accuses an employee and later discovers the accusation was wrong. What should the supervisor do?