Turning Our Apologies to Gratitudes

by Jordan-Ann Powell | Sep 7, 2016

How many times during the day do we say, “I’m sorry”?

It seems we are all too willing to apologize in the face of a challenge – whether it be at our own fault or none at all. And when we do this, we’re diminishing our own authority, immediately calling attention to the fact we’ve done wrong (when sometimes there’s no wrong at all).

Luckily, we have an alternative. Let’s replace “Sorry” with “Thank You”.

As an account lead, I see this translate directly in my daily conversations. Of course, there’s always the right time to own up and apologize. Things go wrong, and it’s important to take ownership.

But I find that most of the time, we should ask ourselves – is there a need to be sorry? Or are we just grateful for patience or understand that’s been given?

By saying “Thank You”, we have the opportunity to lift someone up versus tearing ourselves down. I’ll take that route any day.