can I recover from two angry explosions at work?

A reader writes:

I’m a senior manager and been in the role for about three years. Last week, during a stressful time at the office, I learned of a serious error from another department that affected a very public part of my work and which could have affected my credibility outside of the company were it to come to light. I’m ashamed to say I did not react well — I got quickly upset and escalated to shouting at the other department head. (It was late and not many people were still at work.) I know there was no excuse for that; I apologized immediately and left for the day. The next day I apologized directly to the manager in question.

Now, however, my boss has made a mandatory referral for me to receive anger management classes from our EAP. I’ve been deeply embarrassed by the incident and trying to lay low since it occurred, but this referral has only increased my shame. I should also note that this is the second incident where I’ve gotten seriously angry at work. I’m worried that I may never be able to recover from this internally and that my reputation may be tarnished beyond repair. Do I have any chance of being able to continue to be successful in this role?

I answer this question — and two others — over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here.

Other questions I’m answering there today include:

• When is no accommodation reasonable for a disability?
• When should I tell job candidates I’ll be on maternity leave soon after they start?