54: How Authentic Leaders Apologize, with Bonni Stachowiak

Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed

Bonni is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, Dean of Teaching and Learning and Professor of Business and Management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, she was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. Bonni is the author of The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide*.

Authentic leaders know that there’s more to an apology than simply the words “I’m sorry” – although that’s a good starting point. Mistakes are inevitable, but few leaders are able to communicate a genuine apology. This week, Bonni returns to discuss how we can make our apologies more meaningful and genuine to the people who receive them.

Components of an authentic apology:

1) State “I’m sorry” or “I apologize” with sincerity

2) Be specific about what you are apologizing for and own it

3) Discuss what you will do to avoid the mistake in the future

Tell me what you did to incorporate something from our discussion above – I want to know what is working for you!

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