photo by Jeff Pearce
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”
Vince Lombardi
Quality 3: Commitment; Staying the Course
To be an effective leader, you have to be committed. True commitment inspires the people around you, shows your conviction, and creates an atmosphere conducive to achievement. Although commitment means different things to different people, the true nature of commitment is always the same.
The True Nature of Commitment
Starts in the Heart
Talent is not enough. Intelligence is not enough. To achieve success takes “heart”. It’s what makes you get up when you fall, makes you jog one more lap, practice one more shot, squeeze out one more rep - it is the difference between being a leader and just making the team. People follow the person that always sees things through, no matter what adversity they face.
Tested through Adversity
True commitment withstands any adversity. That’s not to say that you won’t suffer setbacks - you will. But true commitment picks you up, and finds a way to stay the course.
The Catalyst to Achievement
True commitment creates momentum - and momentum is the difference between effective leadership and failure. It is the difference maker. Remember - the combustion temperature of wood is about 525º F (give or take given the type of wood and its water content), at 524º F you have warm soot and smoke; 1º difference and you have a crackling fire for warmth and cooking. If you like to camp in cold climates - you understand the difference maker in that 1º!
Improving Your Commitment
To improve your commitment, do the following:
Measure It
Try the following exercise:
First make a list of the top five things that you feel you are committed to.
Next - take a look at how you spend your time. How much time do you spend at work, with family, or providing service to others?
Finally - examine your bank and credit card statements. How much do you spend on entertainment, personal development, or charity?
Does the way you spend your time and money reflect the things you are committed to? This can be an eye-opening exercise!
Align It with Your Values
An effective leader can not be in conflict within. No matter how talented you may be, you can not be truly committed to a cause (work, social, or otherwise) that is in direct conflict with your personal values.
Make It Public
If you feel you have a problem with taking the first step toward commitment - make it public. Tell others what you intend to do, put out a press release - you might just find that by making your commitments public, you’ll have an easier time following through.
Recap:
The True Nature of Commitment:
- Starts in the Heart
- Is Tested through Adversity
- Is a Catalyst to Achievement
To Improve Your Commitment
- Measure It
- Align It with Your Values
- Make It Public
Note from Bruce: I have recently revisited John C. Maxwell’s The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader
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March 13th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
A great read that is both useful and insightful! Thanks for the post. I struggle with measuring commitments, mainly because it takes added effort and it feels extraneous to my goals. Thanks for the much-needed reminder!
March 13th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Thanks for the comment Thad!
I think measuring our commitments is something that we should do regularly. It is so easy to get caught up in the “urgency” of day to day obligations that we let our true commitments fall by the wayside. In my personal experience, when my actions get too far away from my commitments - I lose my anchor and tend to be very busy but not moving toward my goals. It is absolutely necessary to make sure that our goals are aligned with our values - if we do this, then all of our actions are in harmony.
I think you do better than you realize. I know that your goal is to earn a good living with your business - but you also have made a commitment to providing exceptional service to your customers (for anyone reading this - I am one of Thad’s customers, he is the creator of the outstanding theme on this site! For more info on Thad see Firefox, Graph Paper Press, and Goals).
As long as we keep committed to providing service to others - the rewards will come!
Bruce
April 8th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Wow, this is very inspiring. As leader I find your thoughts most useful. I would like to share it to people in similar states like me, suffering setbacks and wants a way to get back on track. Thanks.