STRATEGY

The good news is that everyone who works in an office has misdirected an email, so your supervisor should understand. Sometimes it's simply sending a message before it has been edited. Other times the email is sent to the wrong person because of your application's autofill feature. These are simple enough to resolve. Apologize, explain what happened, explain that it won't happen again, and accept whatever response you get as being deserved. But then there are instances when you send an email to your supervisor that contains comments they could view as critical of them or the organization. In that case all you can do is say you were trying to spark discussion and accept whatever criticism you receive. If your supervisor wants to discuss comments about them, don't treat this as an opportunity to vent. Keep saying you simply wanted to spark debate. Then start working to heal the relationship.

TACTICS

• Attitude: Be apologetic and accept criticism. You can't turn back time so all you can do is apologize, if need be, multiple times.
• Preparation: Send an email “recalling” the mistaken email as soon as you realize the mistake. Figure out what caused the mistake, but only offer the reason if you're asked for one.
• Timing: Do this as soon as possible. Don't wait overnight, even if means reaching out after work hours.
• Behavior: Do this in person, if possible. If you're not in the same office, reach out on the phone. Do not rely on email to solve this.

ADAPTATIONS

This script can be modified to:

• Apologize for an overheard critical conversation.

KEY POINTS

• Do this as soon as possible, either in person or over the phone.
• Apologize, explain, and apologize again.
• Accept whatever criticism is offered.
• Frame any negative comment as a clumsy attempt to encourage discussion.