You are not a good leader if you never tell people you are
sorry. There are a myriad of issues in the heart of a leader who never
apologizes. If you never apologize, at least one of the following is also true:
You
reveal you think you are infallible.
If you never apologize, if you never say, “I was wrong,”
you show people you actually believe you are always right. You reveal your
foolishness, not your wisdom, if you never admit to being wrong. People are
hesitant, as they should be, to follow someone who thinks he/she is always
right. There is only One who is faultless, and it is not you.
You
are never having difficult conversations.
If you never need to look at someone on your team and say,
“I am sorry, but…” then you are ignoring difficult conversations that would
make the person and the team stronger. If you talk about people
instead of to people, you are not a good leader. If you work
around deficiencies instead of confronting them and providing opportunities for
growth, you are shirking your responsibility.
You
are afraid of making mistakes.
If you take risks and try new things, you will make
mistakes. And wise leaders own those mistakes and learn from them. If you hate
saying you are sorry, if you hate ever being wrong, you will be much more risk
adverse and unwilling to try new things to advance the mission.
You
are never repenting.
The first of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses is “When our Lord
and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Matthew 4:17), he willed the entire
life of believers to be one of repentance.”
If you never admit your wrongs and ask for forgiveness, you
have an elevated view of your holiness and a woefully incomplete view of His.
Source: By Eric Geiger
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