A recent survey of 954 global professionals by the Forum Corporation found that although 87 percent of managers say that they either always or often apologize for their mistakes at work, only 19 percent of employees say that their managers apologize most or all of the time. Naturally, managers not owning up to their errors has a direct impact on employee trust levels. Another interesting insight from the survey is that while 91 percent of employees say it's "extremely important" to have a manager they can trust, only 48 percent of managers agree that it's extremely important for employees to trust their managers.

So we can only assume that it's those managers who do not place a premium on trust who are committing the following worst management sins, as identified by survey participants:

• lying

• taking credit for others' ideas or blaming

  employees unfairly

• gossiping

• poor communication

• lack of clarity.

Managers may condone their mistakes because they are afraid of tarnishing their image. According to the survey, 51 percent of managers believe apologizing makes them appear incompetent, 18 percent believe it makes them look weak, and 18 percent shrug it off, saying that apologizing is unnecessary.

Unfortunately, the study also shows that a low regard for employees' trust may result in low engagement levels.