Dear Bob ... I have a scenario (which may or may not be purely hypothetical) that I am curious about. Suppose there is a boss (who could be my boss, a somebody else's boss, or myself even) who makes a mistake which affects two of his or her employees, then tells each of them that the other one screwed up. Then the two employees catch him or her in the lie. I am curious about your reaction. What kind of damage wa Dear Bob …I have a scenario (which may or may not be purely hypothetical) that I am curious about. Suppose there is a boss (who could be my boss, a somebody else’s boss, or myself even) who makes a mistake which affects two of his or her employees, then tells each of them that the other one screwed up. Then the two employees catch him or her in the lie. I am curious about your reaction. What kind of damage was done? What can the boss do to repair the damage? What is the classy thing for the two employees to do? Just WonderingDear Wondering …May or may not be purely hypothetical? Okay, I’m good with that. I’m not sure whether the right answer is ritual suicide, a call to Guido, or a night out drinking. A lot depends on just how muddy the whole thing is.If the boss made a mistake in the sense that an employee who’s supposed to enter $1243.67 in the “Price” field inadvertently enters $124367.00 in the price field instead … if it’s a clear and unambiguous error … then it’s one thing. If the mistake was simply being wrong about a decision, such as predicting growth when in fact revenue ends up plummeting, it’s another. And if it’s a matter of aesthetic judgment, choosing, for example, the wrong paint color for the walls, then it’s yet a third situation.I’ll assume it’s an unambiguous error and the boss told each of two employees that the other was to blame. My guess is that the boss figured the two employees would never compare notes. Telling a lie to avoid responsibility is generally an indication of poor character. Telling a lie you’re certain to be caught in is a sign of poor character coupled with amazing idiocy. The two employees could conspire to let their boss off the hook if they wanted to, I guess: Invite the shmuck out for a couple of beers, tell him they both know what happened, say, “You know, that was an amazingly stupid thing to do. We’ve discussed the matter, and we think the best thing for all three of us to do is forget it ever happened. And by the way … the beer is on you.”Could the boss take the initiative? Of course. Probably over beer, a substance with wonderful curative properties. If the boss takes the initiative, the conversation goes something like this: “You know the old saying about getting out of a hole? Okay, I’m about to stop digging. I don’t know what I was thinking … probably, I wasn’t … and I owe each of you an apology. If you don’t mind, chalk it up to my having taken a handful of dumb pills that morning.”I doubt this is likely, on the theory that if the boss did this in the first place, twice, then it’s most likely an indication he’s someone who thinks he’s Machiavelli Junior. I worked for a guy like that once, which might be coloring my judgment. One way or another, this sounds like a situation that will fester a long time unless one of the parties takes the first step to clear the air.The short answer to your question, though, is this: The damage is mostly in the level of trust and respect the two employees have for their boss. It’s now diminished significantly. The employees can choose to try the beer thing, which I consider to be very classy, or they can agree to just move on, which is fairly classy. If they decide to resent it and retaliate through malicious obedience or slacking off, that would be pretty far down on the class-o-meter.Class or no class, both employees should remember an important bit of philosophy: Never hold a grudge; never forget what you’ve learned about someone’s character, either. – Bob ——– Technology Industry