I'm sorry. I was wrong

“I’m sorry, I was wrong” How many times have you heard a vendor, boss, peer, executive admit that and put in place tangible and transparent ways to move in the right direction? When they did, did you ever think less of them? Lose confidence? Nope.  

There was a time in my life where I’d was more hardheaded than I am now. Having said that, I don’t understand why people double down and/or assign blame when it’s clear they were wrong, made a mistake, etc.  Although humbling, I see being wrong as a learning experience and a relief. 

For example, what if you were clipping into rock climb and you think you’re set, but your climbing partner comes along and corrects it. In that situation, what if you blew them off because you insisted you were right? It would be very bad to be wrong.  (for the climbers out there, I know that in this situation the partner should refuse to belay the stubborn climber, but you get what I mean). On the other hand, if you were open to correction, you'd be so thankful for their input and action because it saved you from serious injury or perhaps death.

I think a problem is business culture in the US still plays lip service to apologizing, admitting fault. Everybody agrees it's the right thing to do, but time after time you'll see evidence of hardheaded employees play out in the newspapers or within your own company's culture. Whether it is bullies and jerks in the office or those with power who aren't held accountable when their decisions lead to bad outcomes.

If there is an "apology" it's caveated or explained away. The only true apologies are the ones where it's an apology; no rationalization, explanation, nor justification, "I'm sorry, I was wrong." And work with the folks you hurt or wronged to make things right.

Most of us aren't making decisions that could be the difference between life and death like noted above. Mistakes have a variety of outcomes beyond what is being measured, but if you're unwilling to admit fault, apologize; the damage to your company’s culture, market reputation and your personal reputation will be there... whether admitted it or not.

I continue to believe that admitting fault, apologizing is a strength; nobody has all of the right answers. I hope evidence of that is played out more so in 2022. With everything else going on, we can't hold the burden of batting 1000!