When leaders apologize, genuine contrition matters more than legal caution. Corporate jargon and guarded language backfire. Admitting embarrassment or humiliation, even when lawyers advise against it, is what actually restores credibility and stops people from asking again.
Welcome to the Two Minute Drill, Part 6 in this series on seeking forgiveness. This is where the hard part starts. Okay, because this is the part where I talk about contrition, the part about language that you're sorry or that you're concerned or that you're embarrassed or that you're humiliated, that these things happen, but giving evidence that you're acting in a human way rather, rather than a corporate way moving forward. And this is contrary often to legal advice and often to your experience as an executive or a leader. But contrition is powerfully important here because without this feeling or this expression of concern, it's just another corporate jibber jabber statement. And it would raise questions that will irritate you because you've already answered them. But because we're not essentially addressing the expectations of others that you're sorry that this actually happened and that kind of language, these callous sort of questions will keep rising and you're going to have to answer them again. It gets very frustrating. But thinking about it from this standpoint, this is a crucial part of seeking forgiveness and restoring your reputation. See you next time, Sam.
James E. Lukaszewski and Helio Fred Garcia discuss writing Influencing Leaders together
