Hi ,

Occasionally, LTI sends out updates, leadership advice, and our thoughts on current events. This month we have some thoughts on executive level "apologies".

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Read on for more!

I got two ‘apology’ letters from CEOs this month. They weren’t to me as a consultant, but as a consumer. Normally, I am pretty critical of these types of PR driven “I’m sorry because I have to be sorry in order to placate you” kind of public apologies.

But I was actually impressed with both of these because it seems with some great businesses the approach is changing and I like what I see!

One email was from the CEO of a tech company that I buy from frequently. He emailed a response to growing frustrations their users are having with the platform and shared what he was doing about it. The CEO of another business I support emailed to roll-back a new pricing strategy that wasn’t working and update users about what will be in place instead.

Here’s what these two emails had in common: 

They acknowledged there was a problem.

It was clear that they actually listened to feedback they were getting.

They named concrete actions they were taking to fix things.

They offered a pathway to continuing dialogue - the CEO of the tech company even gave out his personal email address! 

In an era where too many CEOs offer up a lukewarm, “listening and learning” or cringey clap backs and doubling down, this was a refreshing change. 

I see in these emails a couple critical skills we at LTI hope to empower in all the leaders we work with: 

1. Humility
2. Courage

Humility:

Humility means admitting when you've made a mistake. You aren’t wailing “I’m the worst! I’m so sorry!” Humility is an honest assessment.

No one trusts leaders who can’t be self-aware enough to admit when they’ve fallen short. And as an executive, you are responsible for being self-aware, not just for yourself, but for your entire organization - where you are winning and where you are not. And when you can do that well, people don’t think you’re weak, they appreciate your integrity. And they trust you.

Courage:

It takes a lot of courage to send out a mass email that talks about your faults and where you went wrong. But it takes even more courage to try something new (or go back to something old that was reliable and well liked) in order to fix the problem. Making a company wide, stakeholder-wide statement means they were willing to be vulnerable and step out as the leader, take responsibility, and make change. 

It also takes courage to try something, fail, listen for feedback, and then walk back a decision or make critical changes with class and integrity.

Our leadership takeaway

Executives are frequently encouraged to double down on high level decisions, even unpopular ones. Especially if they are data driven, well executed and strategically aligned. We are told to stick to the plan, focus on the end goal, and be unapologetically confident. But too often this means ignoring the people being impacted by our leadership decisions when they start telling us something isn't working.

Have you ever had to walk back something you rolled out? Are you confident enough to know which feedback should be listened to or just noted? Is your first instinct to "go public" or run and hide?

We cannot please everyone, but if you're taking risks, every now and then, you'll fail. How you deal with those moments is the test of a great leader.

We want to hear from you about your leadership challenges and where you might need support navigating feedback from your community. We will reply to your response! Email us your thoughts and remember to choose humility and courage today!

Jessica Taylor

CEO & Founder

Leadership Training Initiative

info@leadershiptraininginitiative.com