
I am a woman.
I’ve navigated a successful HR career.
I’ve lead HR Boards.
I’ve helped create award-winning workplaces.
I’ve spoken internationally on HR/Leadership topics.
And, I still have the habit of saying sorry when it’s not warranted. It’s almost a form of verbal garbage, just like saying “um” or “like”. And it doesn’t help me one bit. And in a worst-case scenario, an unintentionally habitual sorry can sound snarky.
Women, in general do this more than men, perhaps a behavior learned interacting with parents or another authority figure when young. No matter the reason, we do it too much.
For me, many times the “I’m s
Instead of saying “Give me one minute to reflect on that”, I’ll say “I’m sorry, but I need a minute to reflect on that”. Instead of saying, “I respectfully disagree with what you just said and let me tell you why”, I’ll say, “I’m sorry, I really mean no offense, but I respectfully disagree with you”.
See. It muddies the water. It makes statements less effective and it’s not necessary. The non-sorry, if said in a good tone, is simply not offensive.
My two cents: the best way to support International Women’s Day – Try to quit saying I’m sorry so much. I
Published by