Lance Armstrong’s reputation still suffering due to blind spot for pain inflicted

Lance Armstrong appreciates where he is at in his life and what he’s learned and overcome. That maturity is unquestionable growth. Yet listening to his words, it’s clear he’s still low on social awareness, as in the pain caused to other people, and people close to them.

In other words, Armstrong’s conflict repairs for his cheating in competitive cycling with performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), also known as doping behavior, are incomplete and thus his reputation, while being rebuilt, is very likely poor to those most hurt by his decisions and weakness in professionalism, ethics and sportsmanship.

Armstrong achieved massive success and was world famous and it was largely a mirage of accomplishment.

He regrets his behavior. Sort of. And yes, for that, he is worthy of some level of admiration for people to decide for themselves.

Yet his words of gratitude for learning from his behavior might ring as hollow, unrepentant remorse to those competitors, teams, sponsors and families who finished in second and third place to Armstrong, or anyone who placed one spot further back to an admitted cheater.

Armstrong can’t undo that loss and pain. Worse, he doesn’t seem concerned about healing that emotional pain. This decision making, again, reveals his underdeveloped skills, or missing ones, in emotional intelligence.

His beliefs, attitudes and behavior cost people glory in the sport of cycling that they sacrificed much for as well as the multiple accompanying rewards.

What Armstrong could do instead is speak to that undeniable negative impact and how he contributed to that loss and pain, regrets it, details how he understands what was taken from his fellow competitors, their sponsors teams and families and how he is passionate and committed about pursuing atonement, making amends.

That would be more noble and, effective reputation management and help Armstrong learn more about the true impact of his actions. He would further grow through his reputation crisis.

Michael Toebe is a communications solutions leadership practice leader for reputation management, risk, crisis communications and crisis management for companies and individuals.

He has written for and contributed to Chief Executive, Corporate Board Member and the New York Law Journal. You can also find him on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and a short-segment podcast Communications Solutions Leadership.