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607. The Apology as a Tool of Positive Influence · Daily Influence

• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the daily influence where our mission is to deliver a daily dose of positive influence that can uplift you personally or be shared within your sphere of influence.
• 0:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: While not every episode may directly apply to your unique circumstances, we strive to provide insights and inspiration relevant to most people's daily, weekly, and monthly lives.
• 0:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Whether you are tuning in during the morning, noon or night, the daily influence is here for you.
• 0:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, share, and embrace the power of influence in your life.
• 0:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Hey, everybody, Brian Smith here with the IM Team Series and your daily influence.
• 0:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: And today, I am going to explore one act, the apology.
• 0:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: As I've been saying, and as we teach in the IM Team Series, influence begins with the individual.
• 1:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's the IM team, right?
• 1:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's not just one thing.
• 1:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's everything that makes us up as an individual.
• 1:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: And with that responsible influence requires self-awareness
• 1:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: humility and accountability.
• 1:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Part of accountability is an apology.
• 1:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: When done intentionally, it becomes more than just an admission of fault.
• 1:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: It becomes a strategic tool of positive influence.
• 1:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: And when we really think about it and align it with our smart framework and our smart discipline,
• 1:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: Manipology strengthens trust.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It restores alignment.
• 1:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: It opens a path to continuous improvement, not just for ourselves, but for those within our area of influence.
• 1:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: So let's talk a little bit about how a genuine apology can element our influence and our relationships and ultimately our leadership.
• 1:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: We own our actions and we own our behaviors.
• 2:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: We have choices at how we use those things in our area of influence.
• 2:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that means that I accept responsibility for them.
• 2:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: And on apology is a proactive step towards acknowledging that understanding and that role as a leader.
• 2:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't shift blame.
• 2:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't
• 2:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: make us remain passive, it makes us engage in those things that we're accountable for.
• 2:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: Responsibility restores psychological safety, not just for ourselves, but with everybody around us in that area of influence.
• 2:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: Others can then feel seen and respected when those that they're connected to in their areas of influence,
• 2:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: except that responsibility and don't try to deflect it or push it off on to others.
• 2:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: And what really that ends up doing is re-establishing relational stability.
• 2:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: And really, this is part of the specific that are in smart hits, naming exactly what you're apologizing for, without excuses.
• 3:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, accepting responsibility signals integrity.
• 3:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: and it invites others to respond with trust rather than defensiveness.
• 3:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Another aspect of this is that a true apology, it's not just words.
• 3:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: It includes a commitment to improvement, not just change but improvement and that means that we're turning our regret, our apology into something that's measurable, measurable in a positive way.
• 3:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: In the smart terms, that means that we're satisfying that measurement and we're making it attainable, not just for us, but for others can see.
• 3:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: that there's something coming that is positively better.
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: And it demonstrates that our intention is for improvement.
• 3:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: Examples could be improving communication frequency, clarifying expectations better, and adjusting tone or timing in our interactions in those situations where we may have previously been or brought negative emotion or negative body language or negative something into the environment.
• 4:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: When others can see this positive improvement, see the change, the apology becomes more positive.
• 4:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: It actually has teeth.
• 4:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: They see it.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't just words.
• 4:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: They see it in the way that you're acting in the way that you're influencing going forward.
• 4:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that reinforces growth.
• 4:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: It also strengthens the relationships that you're going to have.
• 4:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Repair.
• 4:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Apology is a repair process.
• 4:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Repair transforms that.
• 4:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: It takes an apology from a moment of weakness into a moment of power, a moment of leadership.
• 4:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: When we use an apology to move forward together, they realign people.
• 4:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: They reset expectations at a higher level.
• 5:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, now they're going to hold
• 5:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: But that means that our goals will become bigger, the energy to reach those goals and the objectives that are in them will become bigger and better because there's more trust within the team.
• 5:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: And these are one of the core outcomes that we look for within all of the things we do here at the iM team series.
• 5:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: And this makes it relevant.
• 5:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: It also makes it timely.
• 5:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: Bringing people back to
• 5:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: quickly and intentionally moves us into not only onto the smart framework, but into the smart discipline.
• 5:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: And when done well in a policy shifts conversations to or from what happened to what can we build now together, because there's so much more trust within this group.
• 5:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: It reinforces unity.
• 5:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: reduces lingering or immediate impact of resentment.
• 6:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: And it models the kind of responsible influence that inspires team to work together and to trust each other.
• 6:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: A strategic apology is a reset button.
• 6:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: that turns conflict into collaboration.
• 6:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: So look, apologies are often misunderstood as signs of weakness.
• 6:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: But in the world of influence, they are strategic tools of strength.
• 6:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: When we acknowledge our role, commit to measurable repair, and use the moment to real-on relationships and goals, we demonstrate the highest form of responsible influence.
• 6:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: might help you to strengthen trust, restore clarity, and elevate the influence you bring to your specific area of influence.
• 6:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: And as always, remember, your influence is constant.
• 6:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: So let it be positive.
• 6:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you have a great day.
• 6:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: We'll see you again soon on another episode of Daily Influence.