{"id":3047,"date":"2022-10-02T20:00:52","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T02:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:10043\/?p=3047"},"modified":"2022-10-20T20:28:45","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T02:28:45","slug":"it-takes-both-sides-to-get-to-a-win-win-work-apology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atiba.com\/it-takes-both-sides-to-get-to-a-win-win-work-apology\/","title":{"rendered":"It takes both sides to get to a win-win work apology"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared in\u00a0The Tennessean<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

In my last column I talked about the art of the \u201cwork apology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re apologizing to a customer or colleague, those magic words \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u201d delivered with sincerity and a commitment to making things right can quickly turn a negative situation into a positive one.<\/p>\n

But apologizing is not a one-way street.<\/p>\n

Just as there\u2019s a right way to make a business apology, there\u2019s also a right way to accept one.<\/p>\n

Just like in our personal lives, letting someone else know that you\u2019re in the wrong and they\u2019re in the right comes with it the fear of being perceived as weak or even incompetent. We are conditioned, especially at work, to show strength so it takes some courage to not only admit an error, but to seek to make amends for it.<\/p>\n

Most of us at one time or another have had a restaurant mess up our order or had to wait in line at the airport gate after a flight has been canceled.\u00a0 And most people at some time in their work lives have been wronged by a colleague or boss.<\/p>\n

And unfortunately, even in the most obvious situations where an apology is owed, it\u2019s more common than not that we will not get one.<\/p>\n

So, when a company or colleague does muster up the courage to make amends for a mistake, responding in a productive way is essential to turn a bad interaction into a win-win where everyone is happy\u2014this is the goal.<\/p>\n

At its core, just like in our personal lives, accepting an apology in a business setting comes down to three things: listening, empathizing, and letting go of any lingering resentments.<\/p>\n

Listening, the first step is often easier said than done when emotion is involved.\u00a0 But in a business setting, listening equates to respecting even in the midst of conflict.\u00a0\u00a0 Committing to hearing someone out will set the table for the next step.<\/p>\n

Empathizing, or putting yourself in the apologizer\u2019s shoes, can be a struggle.\u00a0 But just as it takes empathy to offer an apology it takes some empathy to accept one as well. \u00a0It helps to remember that everyone makes mistakes, and that sometimes we are all at the mercy of circumstances out of our control.<\/p>\n

And lastly, whether it\u2019s the airline delaying your flight or a co-worker throwing you under the proverbial bus in front of your boss, holding a grudge isn\u2019t good for anyone. As Nelson Mandela once said, \u201cResentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.\u201d\u00a0 So, if you truly are looking for a resolution of a business conflict, you must be willing to let go of any lingering resentments.<\/p>\n

So, a successful apology is a two-way street.\u00a0 It takes work on both ends, which ironically can put two people in a conflict on the same side, both working towards a resolution.\u00a0 And in the end, it can make a relationship, whether it\u2019s a customer or colleague, stronger. \u00a0If you do find yourself lucky enough to receive that rare apology, muster up your empathy, and answer with a sincere \u201cthanks\u201d and move ahead.<\/p>\n

JJ Rosen is the founder of\u00a0Atiba<\/a>. A\u00a0<\/em>Nashville custom software development<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and IT support company. \u00a0Visit <\/em>www.atiba.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or <\/em>www.atibanetworkservices.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0for more info.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared in\u00a0The Tennessean. In my last column I talked about the art of the \u201cwork apology.\u201d Whether you\u2019re apologizing to a customer or colleague, those magic words \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u201d delivered with sincerity and a commitment to making things right can quickly turn a negative situation into a positive one. But apologizing is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":3048,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atiba-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atiba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atiba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atiba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atiba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atiba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.atiba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atiba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atiba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atiba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atiba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}