Page 199 - Fearless Leadership

186 FEARLESS LEADERSHIP

Slippery Promises

Just as the name implies, slippery promises are cunning, tricky, and often
treacherous. These promises are carefully constructed with a back door.
People make promises but always have a way to retreat. Examples of back-
door escapes—the exit strategy—include these:

• “I did not receive the information I needed.”
• “I thought you said Thursday, not Tuesday.”
• “I was under the impression you wanted a preliminary report,
not a final report.”
• “I wish you had clarified this before. I had a different
understanding.”
Slippery promises are designed to place accountability for failure on
other people and to make them wrong in the process. The response “I wish
you had clarified this with me before” makes the other person responsi-
ble. In contrast, an accountable statement is “I did not hear you correctly.”
Be aware, there are those who use slippery promises to manipulate. It
is difficult to hold someone accountable when he or she tells you “I
remember our conversation differently.” To avoid this situation, do not
accept slippery commitments. Document the specific agreements when
the commitment is made and make sure all parties are fully aligned.
Documenting an agreement in detail eliminates the easy “exit” strategy
of those who make slippery promises.
How about you? Do you slip and slide out of promises and agreements?
If one of your blind spots is treating commitments casually, you will not
see how this occurs in your behavior. Most likely you view yourself as
someone who responsibly keeps commitments. To raise your level of
awareness, ask people you trust to point out when you make casual or slip-
pery promises.

The CTO Blames Others for His Failure to Keep
His Commitment

A CTO in a manufacturing company committed to providing a com-
prehensive report for the executive team regarding a major overhaul
of the company’s logistics system. When the analysis was due, the