Saying you’re sorry

12Jun08

I’m continually interested in how principles of good communication between individuals can easily be applied to organizations. Prime Minister Harper’s apology yesterday to aboriginal Canadians is a case in point. In his statement, Harper apologized completely and took responsibility for the terrible way that aboriginal children were taken away from their parents and forced into residential schools throughout most of the 20^th century. It was unequivocal in its tone, and he appeared sincere and humble as he spoke. Especially interesting is the gracious manner in which the aboriginals accepted the apology, and the apparent goodwill that was generated. While the hurt and suffering was not completely undone, there were even moments of humour as they responded to the apology in the House of Commons. It was clearly a step in the right direction to heal divisions between First Nations and the rest of Canada.

Apologizing for hurting others is an idea that even young children understand. For individuals, it is clear, albeit very difficult sometimes, to apologize for a wrong-doing. You say what you did wrong, you understand how it affected that person and say you’re sorry. For larger organizations, taking this sort of action can be muddled by legal considerations and how the organization will be held liable. From a public relations and a moral point of view, apologizing quickly while taking responsibility is the right thing to do.

It’s amazing how gracious and willing people are to forgive when they are apologized to as shown by the aboriginals’ response. Conversely, people get very annoyed when a wrongdoing has been committed but there is no apology or no responsibility taken. The anger expressed and suffering prior to Harper’s apology was indicative of this. With this whole and complete apology, relations between First Nations and the rest of Canada can begin to move forward. It will be interesting to see how this relationship continues from here on out.

Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: aboriginals, apologize