Soft Skills: On Commitment

What if I told you that your commitments guide your decisions moment to moment?

A little daunting, right?!

Your social constructs may have you believing that commitments only apply to relationships. Depending on your role in your organization, maybe commitments for you pertain to contracts and agreements.

But what about the little agreements you make throughout the day. “I’ll call you back in five minutes” or “I’ll get back to you by the end of the day”. Do you honor those commitments? What happens if you can’t keep your word?

What about the things you’re committed to that you haven’t acknowledged? The generational commitments that you inherited from your family. How do they play a role in your interactions and behaviors? Let’s add to that, social norms. Is there anything that can be done about the commitments you honor that go against your system of values?

Let’s go one step further still… what happens when your fear of commitment has you playing small or stopping just short of the finish line? Do you know someone who stops and starts again and again? Is that someone you? What does that offer us about our level of commitment?

Too often, we go through every day life unaware of the commitments we’ve made - both large and small. That lack of awareness to our commitment can result in broken agreements or time spent on things that do not support our vision. Over time, it can even undermine our results and relationships if we’re not present to the impact.

Your routines, habits, and plans are all rooted in your commitments. If you’re committed to a healthy lifestyle, you engage in activities that honor your commitment. Likewise, if you’re committed to being right about your limiting belief that all relationships fail, then you might sabotage or undermine them. That’s the thing about commitments. They are neutral. Commitments don’t care if your end result is positive or negative. Their job role is to produce a result based on how you honor them.

By now you're probably wondering, if there a way to improve your level of commitment.

I thought you’d never ask!

In the Soft Skills Workshops we take an in depth look at your commitments. Once you’re clear on which commitments work for you and your organization (and which are limiting your possibilities) we engage in a “Commitment Ceremony”. It’s one of the ways you can learn to honor your commitments - by being intimate with them. You’ll discover what you can create when you give yourself completely to that which you say matters most.

As it pertains to commitment and leadership development, I’ve included an additional resource to support you with it.

I shared this article in my Soft Skill Series on LinkedIn. The author writes, “Leadership commitment and employee commitment go hand in hand” - to which I emphatically agree. May you find in it, as I did, valuable insights on inspiring commitment in your organization.

I’ll see you in the Soft Skills Lab!

Until then, I leave you in the question(s)…

• What are you committed to creating this week?

• Who do you get to be in order to achieve that outcome?

• What will it take to honor your commitments, seeing them through to the end?

• How will your team/organization reap the benefit?