SORRY used to be a common word. From extra-marital affairs to bad business decisions to corruption, CEOs of the past used to toss apologies freely and abundantly.

But not anymore.

As the world grapples with the biggest financial crisis in a long while, the sorry machine has ground to a halt, reported USA Today.

The silence from politicians, regulators and past and present CEOs at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, Bear Stearns, Countrywide Financial, Merrill Lynch and Washington Mutual is telling.

The reason is simple: Saying sorry may be construed as an admission of guilt, and open you up to legal concerns.

When Lehman Bros CEO Richard Fuld testified on Capitol Hill recently, members of the US Congress grilled him to own up.

Mr Fuld said he takes full responsibility for his decisions, that he "felt horrible about it", but that the largest bankruptcy in history was due to circumstances beyond his control.

Likewise, former AIG chief executives Hank Greenberg, Martin Sullivan and Robert Willumstad deflected blame in oral and written testimony to Congress.

Public opinion polls show most people blame CEOs for the crisis.

But there is blame to go around, with Democrats choosing to ignore warnings about the possible implosion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and Republicans supporting less regulation, says Harvard leadership expert Barbara Kellerman, who wrote a 2006 article in the Harvard Business Review titled, When Should a Leader Apologize - and When Not?

Angry

The absence of apologies has angered many.

While few CEOs in the USA have been outwardly critical of their counterparts in the financial sector, the founder of Japanese electronics giant Kyocera Kazuo Inamori told USA Today that CEOs who had a hand in the mess "should acknowledge their role and apologise, unreservedly, to their shareholders, stakeholders and the US taxpayers".

But Golden Gate University psychologist Kit Yarrow says both CEOs and elected officials operate in dog-eat-dog worlds where strength is rewarded and those with self-doubt and regret don't make it to the top.

"Many of the folks involved have trained themselves to avoid introspection and second-guessing. It gives you a thick skin and a sense of superiority that shields you from caring what people think of you.

"And if you don't care what people think, you certainly wouldn't feel the need to apologise," he said.

This article was first published in The New Paper on October 24, 2008.