Leadership Matters: 4 mistakes you make when apologizing

An honest ‘I’m sorry’ can build stronger relationships within your team.

Apologies are something we love to receive and hate to give. And especially as a leader, they are tough. They require a great deal of humility, which challenges your pride and ego. Apologies are an open admission of failure or wrongdoing, but when delivered with sincerity, they hold power within your team.

Unfortunately, too many leaders give superficial apologies loaded with excuses and blame. Apologizing for the sake of apologizing is ingenuine and an insult to those wronged. If you want to be taken seriously in your organization, it’s important to know why an apology is necessary and to deliver it in a way that’s heartfelt and honest.

Here are four ways you are apologizing wrong and how to make sure you don’t make these mistakes in your next “I’m sorry.”

 

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