The Artful Dodge of an Apology: lesson from an MBA program

In my experience, most apologies are given to make the person apologizing feel better, and societal norms in this country say we must accept that apology and not hold a grudge, etc. What is not factored in is the human factor; the fact that we are thinking, breathing and feeling creatures.

How you treat your employees before they leave and how you treat your colleagues before you part ways will have a lot to do with how that apology is truly received. If you had made the effort beforehand, you probably will not have to apologize later, or give false platitudes such as “it is nice to see you”.

This sounds cynical, I know, however, the point of this write up is to prevent these issues from becoming issues in the first place, and it starts with authentic leadership.

Some things to think about that get taught in class every day, but do not necessarily get put into practice.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam