Page 203 - Fearless Leadership

190 FEARLESS LEADERSHIP

You have publicly declared your intent and stand, and your committed
partners will support you and hold you accountable.
Committing requires the courage to say “Yes, I will” and then take
action to achieve it. Declaring your commitment energizes and empowers
you and others to act instead of sitting on the sidelines wishing and hop-
ing something will materialize. Making and managing promises is a dis-
cipline that is essential for producing business results.
In contrast, giving your word in a culture of 50/50 accountability
means only that you will try to do your best. In this culture, people allow
circumstances to dictate results, and they use excuses to cover up poor per-
formance. For example, “If only we had received this information sooner,
we could have . . .” Commitments in a 50/50 culture are easily avoided
by blaming others or the situation. There is always an escape hatch to avoid
being held accountable.
In a culture of 100% accountability, commitment drives results, and cir-
cumstances do not get in the way. An authentic commitment means “We
will deliver in spite of challenging and tough circumstances.” So-called
good reasons and excuses are not used to avoid fulfilling a commitment.

COMMIT OR DO NOT COMMIT

The culprit is that we do not communicate a clear yes or no. If you can-
not say yes unconditionally, then your answer is no. Saying “Yes, but” or
“I’ll try” are not commitments. “No, I cannot” and “Yes, I will” are both
clear and acceptable statements about what others can count on you for.
It is as simple as saying yes when you mean yes and saying no when you
mean no. Except that we do not do this. We say yes to get out of a con-
versation, be polite, buy time, or avoid conflict. In business today, a yes is
often reduced to being a strategy for placating and avoiding.
If you want to commit but have reservations, then say “My answer is
no, I cannot commit at this time. I’m willing to commit once I clear up
my concerns.” If you cannot authentically commit, say so, and discuss what
is causing you to hesitate and avoid committing.
People need to trust what you say. They listen to your promises, watch
your actions, and then decide if they can trust you. When your commit-
ments are inconsistent with your behavior, people throw out what you say
and believe only what you do.