Is Forgiveness ‘a thing’ in the business world

You rarely hear people speak about ‘forgiveness’ in the corporate world. A lot in Church, History, Therapy and Life Coaching. In business, it doesn’t seem to be ‘a thing’. 

According to a McKinsey study done in 2022, 80% of execs say that “ innovation is among their top three priorities. With less than 10% of execs saying they’re happy with the level of innovation brought forth by their organisation. Zunaira Munir, PhD, states that AI will drive innovation in a variety of industries and provided tangible advice on how to adopt an AI-centric company strategy.

However…

Aristotle, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu did it..

In ancient Greece the philosopher Aristotle argued that forgiveness is a virtue that every leader should embrace. Aristotle stated that forgiveness had the potential to enable leaders in building trust and fostering cooperation among their followers.

• Nelson Mandela forgave his jailers after spending 27 years in prison for his political beliefs.
• Desmond Tutu, the former Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, was a leading voice in the fight against apartheid. He also advocated for forgiveness and reconciliation among South Africans.

So clearly. History’s Great seem to agree on practising forgiveness in life. 

What are the benefits of forgiveness in leadership?

People are happier. Well that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Employees also tend to become more loyal to their manager. If these two aren’t already enough ‘ROI’ then the next benefit should be enough to nudge you into the right direction.

‘Radical Innovation’: Not the incremental improvement. Not adding crunchiness to peanut butter or sprinkles to your ice cream (!)

Radical innovation! Bringing Blockbuster to the internet and creating Netflix. Making investing fractional Robinhood. Putting LLM into a chatbot and changing the workplace into people just prompting ChatGPT. That is Radical Innovation. Innovation that changes the way people work. 

Thinking outside of the box comes with the price of potential mistakes and errors. Allowing room for those mistakes and errors opens the door for radical innovation.

Steps to create an office culture of Radical Innovation

Create a Forgiving Context:

To support radical innovation, organizations must create an environment that encourages risk-taking and doesn’t punish mistakes or errors and instead encourages learning from them.

Forgiveness as an HR strategy:

Yes! Believe it or not! Recruit, hire, train and promote those individuals who breathe forgiveness into their teams. This idea alone is Radical Innovation already.

Stop expecting a ‘boss’ to be an d***:

Organizations should stop perceiving leaders who forgive as soft, indulgent, or inefficient. Instead, they should value these leaders as individuals with a strong moral sense, making them worthy leaders.

Promoting feedback over failure:

You will be unable to create this culture as long as you’re unable to shift your mind from failure to feedback. Feedback is looking at the outcomes of an input. Failure is looking at the outcomes of an input and then attaching negative feelings to it. It is that feeling that you radiate onto your company. Focus on the learnings. Not the results. Work on the process, not the outcomes. 

Learn to forgive yourself:

Sorry for this cringe. But how can you forgive anyone else if you’re unable to forgive your own wrongdoings? 

To foster an office culture of radical innovation, it’s crucial to cultivate an environment that embraces forgiveness and learning over penalizing mistakes.

This involves recruiting and nurturing leaders who value forgiveness, viewing it as a strength rather than a weakness. By shifting the mindset from seeing failure as a negative outcome to viewing it as valuable feedback, organizations can encourage risk-taking and continuous improvement.

The Wrap up

Forgiveness is often overlooked in the corporate world but holds untapped potential. A McKinsey study reveals that while 80% of executives prioritize innovation, less than 10% are satisfied with their organization’s innovation levels. Historical icons like Aristotle, Nelson Mandela, and Desmond Tutu recognized the power of forgiveness, emphasizing its role in building trust and cooperation. 

The benefits of forgiveness in leadership include happier employees, increased loyalty, and a culture of “Radical Innovation.” To foster this innovation, organizations must create a forgiving context, embrace forgiveness as an HR strategy, and shift from failure to feedback. Self-forgiveness also plays a crucial role in this transformative journey.

References: 

• Bright, David. (2006). Forgiveness as an attribute of leadership. 10.1017/CBO9780511753770.010.
• Davidhizar, R.E., & Laurent, C.R. (2000). The art of forgiveness. Hospital materiel management quarterly, 21 3, 48-53.
• Domínguez-Escrig, E., Mallén Broch, F.F., Chiva Gómez, R., & Lapiedra Alcamí, R. (2021). Improving performance through leaders’ forgiveness: the mediating role of radical innovation. Personnel Review.
• Duanxu, Wang & Gan, Chenjing & Wu, Chaoyan & Wang, Danqi. (2015). Ethical Leadership and Employee Voice: Employee Self-Efficacy and Self-Impact as Mediators. Psychological reports. 116. 10.2466/01.07.PR0.116k29w9. 
• Dirks, K. T., & Ferrin, D. L. (2002). Trust in leadership: Meta-analytic findings and implications for research and practice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), 611-628.