Leader apologies to followers – the type of apology influences the rebuilding of trust and forgiveness

Does the type of apology from a leader to a follower matter for rebuilding trust and forgiveness? Yes, according to this new study.

Summary next week.

This study explored five different apology types in repairing the relationship between leaders and followers, based on a negative transgression from the leader.

They hypothesised that the sincere expression will outperform the other apology expressions, most effectively signalling a leader’s truthfulness; signalling that their sincerity is genuine.

In contrast, a basic apology, like ‘I am sorry’ without embellishment and elaborating info, may not lead to positive outcomes; although can be useful first steps.

These other types of expressions may offer an apology but lack elaboration or embellishment, may offer remorse, acknowledge responsibility or make amends but don’t share the same emotional connection. Trust is foundational in the repair process.

They argue that  “apologies can be a double-edged sword for the apologizer: They can enable offenders to show vulnerability and remorse for their actions (Basford et al., 2014), but they may also cause victims to feel indifferent or even less forgiving”.

Key findings were:

• Sincere apology expressions had the greatest impact on forgiveness and trust
• Participants who received or were exposed to sincere apologies showed higher levels of forgiveness and trust compared to those that didn’t
• Individuals with higher levels of trust in their leaders were more likely to report receiving sincere apologies
• Results were consistent across the vignette experiment, field studies and a causal-chain experiment

Hence, their findings “demonstrate that sincere apologies are not only more effective than insincere or no apologies, but also more effective than other apology expressions, consistent with our trust signalling theorizing”.

Link in comments.

Authors: Stackhouse, M., Turner, N., & Kelley, K. (2024). Repairing damaged professional relationships with leader apologies: An examination of trust and forgiveness. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 33(3), 399-415.

Study link: https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2024.2319903

My site with more reviews: https://safety177496371.wordpress.com

LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benhutchinson2_does-the-type-of-apology-from-a-leader-to-activity-7207501225532035072-ydRW?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop