70. The Power of the Apology: How to Heal Relationships and Strengthen Your Character as a Leader

Making mistakes is a part of life, but for leading entrepreneurs, when those mistakes affect our relationships with others, it is extremely difficult to know how to move forward. Host Katie Richardson sits down today to talk about what to do when you make a mistake that affects others. Instead of replying with excuses or white lies on instinct, learn to confront the situation and take ownership of your role in it, apologize without giving the backstory, and move forward in a way that is aligned with your integrity.

3 Key Takeaways

Confront the issue and own your part of it. This means acknowledging what you did wrong, and taking responsibility for your part in the situation.
Apologize without giving a backstory. It will be difficult not to give reasoning behind your decision, but it is the best way to align yourself with your team and rebuild trust.
Ask for forgiveness. Sometimes, it doesn’t even need to be a long apology, and it may not feel fair at the time, but it will set you free.

Resources

The Bonds that Make Us Free by Terry Warner

Transcript

Show Notes

[00:01:01] - You are going to know by the end of this episode what to do in a situation where you messed up and it affected other people.

[00:02:27] - Katie shares a difficult situation she found herself in when she received a letter from someone stating they didn’t want to be associated with her anymore. She realized she was, in turn, turning this person into a monster.

[00:06:55] - There's a question that we can ask ourselves in a moment like this from Terry Warner: “Might I be in the wrong?” Katie realized the path forward was to apologize simply and directly. It set her free.

[00:10:53] - She breaks down that experience and applies it to you. Step one is to confront and own your piece of the problem. Ask yourself if you might be in the wrong. The second piece is to apologize and not give the backstory.

[00:11:35] Katie gives a different example of a client who made a mistake that directly affected her influencer friend. Katie advised her to own her mistake, and it brought her client and her influencer friend closer.

[00:15:01] - It’s time to accept that as an entrepreneur who is human, you WILL make mistakes. You can make up the back story, come up with an excuse, but that will diminish your integrity, and you actually create a separation between you and that individual. You CAN walk through the discomfort.

[00:15:50] - Katie challenges listeners to take a breath next time they make a mistake and go down the path of taking ownership. Write down your thoughts from this episode on a piece of paper if you need to. Katie is excited to see how it goes for you when you set yourself free.