Anatomy of a Commitment

What is a commitment?  How serious do you take a commitment?  How do you feel when a commitment is broken or not honored?

Commitments are the bedrock of trust.  As I work with organizations, it is often a lack of commitment at the root cause of issues.  Employees expect their leaders to honor their promises, to respect assurances – to deliver on their commitments

The real test of leadership comes down to how well you keep your word.  Broken promises destroy organizations.  As a leader, your commitments are the working capital that determines if you succeed or fail.  Commitments are a serious matter!  Don’t take them lightly.

 A commitment is a contract.  It represents an assurance to follow through and deliver.  Long before written contracts were used to conduct business, it was a verbal commitment often sealed with a handshake that constituted a warrant to deliver.  When you preface something with “I promise …” you are making a commitment.  If you don’t intend on delivering or believe there may be impediments to following through, don’t state it as a promise.  Broken promises are the high-speed route to failed leadership.

Another aspect of commitment is clarity.  I have found organizations that obfuscate or bury commitments under a cloud of caveats and provisions that create escape paths.  In contracts you can often find so many terms and conditions they nullify commitments to the point of absurdity.  Clarity demands that promises leave little or no wiggle room for interpretation.  It should be obvious what you have committed to and when delivered, closure is assured.

The final component of commitment is accountability.  Broken promises have consequences and you must be prepared to accept responsibility when you don’t deliver.  That doesn’t mean playing the blame game or clouding the situation with excuses.  When you make a commitment, you are taking responsibility for the outcome regardless of what it is.  Step up and lead!

Want to test how solid you are at keeping commitments?

How well do you keep commitments made to yourself?  The real test of how sincere you are about commitments lies within.  Most of us have made personal resolutions at one point or another.  They may have been New Year’s resolutions or just a simple decision to change something.  What’s your personal track record?  If you have broken commitments to yourself, you’re more likely to break them with others.  Sound harsh?  Take a few moments and reflect on this point.  Consider that you can’t give what you don’t already possess.  Your determination to honor promises you’ve made to yourself is the foundation on which you draw strength to do so for others.

The true test of leadership is commitment.  There are many other attributes that contribute to great leadership, but it all rests on one simple thing – are you good for your word?  Trust is built or destroyed on this one element.  You can possess many of the other attributes often associated with leaders, but if you fail the commitment test, you fail as a leader.  Next time you’re called to make a commitment, consider the implications should you break your promise.  When you chose to walk away from a commitment, the effects can be deep and long-lasting.  Take the commitment test. 

• Can and will you deliver?
• Is it clear what you have committed to?
• Are you ready to take complete responsibility for the outcome?

Finally, reflect on the commitments you’ve made to yourself over the last several years.  If you have failed to keep your own promises, has that in any way affected commitments made to others?  Be honest with yourself.  Start by honoring the promises you make to yourself and build commitment muscle.  You’ll find delivering to others becomes easier when you respect yourself enough to do so when no one else is looking.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more by visiting www.connect2action.com.

Multi-Tasking is a Farce!

Everyone is trying to multi-task in the fast-paced world we live in.  But is there really such a thing as multi-tasking?  There isn’t!  What we pawn off as multi-tasking is rapidly changing bursts of focus.  The human brain is really not capable of multi-tasking.  Let me explain.

Take for example what happens when someone is walking and chewing bubble gum at the same time.  In our brains specialized areas responsible for these coordination skills are working in parallel.  These functions are happening automatically – in other words, we don’t have to ‘think’ about it.  If instead we focused on chewing, we would find it increasingly difficult to walk.  Tasks that require focus can only be processed one step at a time.  When we “multi-task” we are simply shifting the focus gears faster, but we aren’t doing two or more things at once.

Consider the work of a potter.  Their focus on the clay in front of them is critical.  Every detail must be attended to if the piece is to become what they intended.  Now imagine in the middle of spinning the wheel, the artist looks up to speak to someone.  What do you think happens to their piece?  Chances are, it starts to fall apart.  A loss of focus surely results in a mess.  How is other work we do different?  It isn't.

I don’t like the analogy, but think about how computers perform multi-tasking.  What happens is that a task is divided into segments that are then distributed to multiple processors before returning results and recompiling them.  Each processor is executing a stack of instructions in serial order.  It appears to the observer that the computer is doing more than one thing at a time, but in reality each processor is operating independently doing one task at a time.

Now be honest (and we’ve all done this).  You’re at your desk working on a document when the phone rings.  You interrupt the work to answer the phone and put it on speaker to keep your hands free.  As the person is talking, you keep typing away – ah you are multi-tasking!  However, halfway through the conversation, you lose your train of thought.  The person on the other end suddenly gets your attention with a “have you even heard what I’ve been saying?” to wit you ask them to repeat it.  Your focus had shifted from the person to the document and you missed the conversation.  This happens because the part of the brain that helps us maintain focus can only do one thing at a time.  You may be able to shorten the bursts of focus and chunk them up trading back and forth between tasks, but you’re still only doing one thing at a time.

In companies and organizations, multi-tasking is seen as a positive attribute.  But what would you say to someone who said their greatest strength was an ability to rapidly shift focus from one topic to the next without ever completing a task or maintaining quality?  That is in fact what “multi-tasking” usually results in.  When you interrupt your focus it’s very easy to lose your train of thought.  When you return to the task you stopped (even for a moment), you often have to back up a few steps and regain your focus – and that’s if you’re lucky enough to remember where you left off.  What companies mistake as productivity (multi-tasking) comes at the price of lost clarity and momentum. 

Zen masters had it right all along.  They teach to be singularly focused and mindful in everything you do.  They encourage us to focus on a task and complete it before moving on.  If you can’t complete something, then leave it in a state of rest where it is easier to pick up where you left off.  When we pile so much on our plate that our minds are bouncing around like a Ping-Pong match, we find ourselves falling further behind.  Speeding things up won’t make the process work any better.  Multi-tasking is a productivity killer!

Try being more mindful in how you approach things.  Take the necessary time to do it well and enjoy the peace that comes from knowing you have removed one more thing from your plate.  This doesn’t mean slowing down, but it does mean retaining focus.  If your phone rings next time and you can’t afford to stop what you’re doing, let it ring.  If you choose to pick it up, explain to the other person you need to complete something and call them back.  Being singularly focused is how our brains work.  If you’re looking for productivity, choose to focus. 

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more by visiting www.connect2action.com.

You can follow his blogs at:  mindfulperspectives.blogspot.com and connect2action.blogspot.com

Fresh Tracks

As is typical this time of year in Colorado, we awoke to find fresh snow on the ground.  I left the house early to get to a meeting with clients and found myself blazing a trail through the new snow on the road.  As I marveled at the beauty while staying focused on the road, it occurred to me that laying fresh tracks on the ground has a lot in common with life.

Our lives are too often consumed with following the tracks of others.  We go through our daily routines without having (or creating) the opportunity to do something new and different.  Is it any wonder we sometimes wake up in the morning feeling bored or dissatisfied with our life?  Even with snow on the ground, we find ourselves driving along seeking the tracks of those who have gone before us.  After all, it’s safer that way.  We risk less when we follow someone else.  What about the person ahead of us with no trail to follow? 

Like driving in the snow, when you have to be the one blazing the trail, there’s a certain anxiety and tension that comes with it.  Where are the lines?  Have I drifted off the road?  Am I over far enough to prevent the person coming the other way from running into me?  In life, when we have to create a fresh track and the familiar markers are hard to find, we too also face the uncertainty with a degree of anxiety.  Blazing trails though is what leaders do.  They embrace the challenge and take satisfaction in knowing that others behind them will have an easier time staying on the road.

So next time you have the opportunity to be the first to set down new tracks, embrace it.  Just like the snow will give way to the plow, other drivers, or the sun, these opportunities don’t come all the time.  Relish the moments when the path ahead of you appears clean and fresh.  Know that taking the lead is making the way clearer and safer for those who follow.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more by visiting www.connect2action.com.

The Absence of Conflict

For most of us, conflict is a very uncomfortable topic.  The very word itself often evokes a strong, negative emotional reaction.  When we think of conflict, our mind often races to a past experience where we were locked in a dispute with someone and things went terribly wrong, feelings were hurt, and in some cases damage was done.  For many, conflict is something to be avoided at all cost.  I would contend however that conflict is not understood and the absence of conflict is actually a warning sign that something is going wrong, especially when the stakes are high.

Organizations that aren’t embracing conflict on a regular basis are missing opportunities for growth.  It is in conflict where diverse perspectives are brought to the fore, carefully examined, and progress is set in motion.  Let me offer a more personal perspective to make my point.

My wife and I have worked with married and engaged couples for many years.  The numbers of couples we have supported are more than I could ever recall.  The one thing we have always addressed with them is conflict.  Too many couples believe that the absence of conflict in their relationship is a good indicator of happiness and success yet this couldn’t be further from the truth.  In our experience, conflict is the fuel that challenges a couple to learn from each other, grow closer together, and become more sensitive to each other.  We’ve met couples that bragged about the fact they hadn’t had a major disagreement in years.  However, when we really got them to open up, we always found issues they had both buried for years choosing not to address them for fear of offending their partner.  Instead of being open and honest, these issues simmer under the surface and inevitably explode on the scene with a fury.  In some cases, those very same couples found themselves in divorce court dealing with “irreconcilable differences” because the issue had progressed to the point that made it nearly impossible to deal with.  Had they had the courage and concern to surface their concern initially rather than bury it, it would have been far more likely they could have worked through it. 

Organizations rely upon trusting and open relationships to grow.  The clients I’ve worked with over the years that have valued conflict and were willing to deal with differences of opinions, personality clashes, and the myriad of other issues that are present in any group of people, are far more healthy than those that sweep them under the rug.  When leaders squelch conflict, they simply push it into the shadows where it smolders until something happens and a wildfire erupts.  At that point, all the firefighting technology and techniques in the world aren't likely to dampen the flames; the damage has been done.  If the rumor mill is the most active form of communication in your organization, it is very likely that you have a culture that discourages conflict.  Warning, warning, warning!  When leaders declare either openly or through their behavior that disagreements that have to do with them are “off limits”, they are shutting down dialog and taking communication undercover.  Trust me, it will surface again and probably at the point you can least afford it.

This should not be construed as a call for open warfare.  Dealing with conflict in a positive and constructive way requires skill, patience, and the highest degree of transparency.  Leaders who are willing to be questioned and encourage divergent perspectives are more likely to surface issues sooner where they can be dealt with and worked through.  Yes, the process can create discomfort, but in my experience, people get better at it over time and produce teams that are more productive, trusting, and willing to engage.  It takes practice and consistency.  Leaders who behave more like explorers are far more likely to encourage critical thinking and are open to divergent perspectives and new information.  This is where the leaders are separated from managers.  Managers have a tendency to oversee the process of “turning the crank” of the company engine without questioning while insisting that others do the same.  Leaders on the other hand are open to change and willing to question the status quo.

Conflict therefore should become a value in your organization and fuel for your growth engine.  Getting good at embracing conflict takes practice and there are many reputable firms that can help an organization develop the right skills and culture that turns conflict into a positive force.  I have personally used the Crucial Confrontations work from VitalSmarts and the work of Conversant Communications, both which I would highly recommend.  Simply deciding to shift the perspective on conflict in your organization is just the first step, and if your leaders haven’t been coached and trained in how to support the right environment, then getting some professional help should be considered.

I would encourage you to evaluate the attitudes and role of conflict in your organization and ask yourself how you’re really doing.  Constructive conflict can lead to innovation, growth, and create a work environment that people want to be engaged in and supportive of.  Don’t run from conflict, take a step toward it!

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more by visiting www.connect2action.com.

When is Change Really Change?

Fall is upon us and with it comes the change in weather, the leaves turning and falling away, and the gradual decline in temperatures.  Fall is a period of transition and while some are eager for the change (Fall happens to be my favorite season), others dread its signal that Winter will soon be upon us.  Change is an inevitable fact of life.

Just over the last week, I have experienced an extraordinary amount of “change” in my personal and professional life.  With this convergence of some very significant situations that will affect my family and myself immediately and over the rest of our lives, I began to reflect upon when that “change” actually occurred.  It turns out, that several of the situations now present to me have in fact been in motion for months and in one case, for years.  It was only just within the last week that awareness of the realities of these events became known and recognized.  So when does change actually become change?  In other words, were these in fact changes when they first occurred without my awareness of them, or did they become change at the point that I recognized their reality?  Even more importantly, at what point did it really matter?  An even deeper question I’ve pondered is whether or not their reality is fact, perception, or some combination.  It’s like that age-old question:  if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around, does it make a sound?

Change is fundamentally an experience, not an event.  Because change is a constant in every aspect of our universe, it is the experience of that change filtered through our perceptions and attitudes that determines its nature, not the change itself.  Here is a basic fact: different people can reach very different conclusions yet experience the same event.  A situation for one person may not even rise to their awareness while another may view it as catastrophic.  I often use this simple example.  Most of us have witnessed an auto accident or perhaps had the unfortunate experience of being in one.  The attending officer must gather statements from as many people as possible in order to piece together a conclusion on what happened.  Keep in mind that each witness or victim observed the same event, yet the conclusions could be as unique and different as each and every individual present.  How can so many people have witnessed the same thing yet come to a very different set of observables and had a different experience?  It’s all in perception; perception shaped by attitudes, experiences, emotional state, and a myriad of many other factors.  So how does all this relate to change?

Change doesn’t happen to us, it’s in how we choose to perceive, interpret, and respond, that determines if an event becomes a moment of change in our lives or is simply another event.  When you come to understand that the reality of change is a decision that you control, it can create a much broader range of possibilities; you suddenly have options!  I’ve often marveled at people who are seemingly standing in the center of a cyclone yet seem unmoved and calm as if the sky is blue, birds are singing, and the sun is warming their skin.  You wonder how in the world such peace and calm can be found in the midst of so much turmoil.  But what may seem as chaos and gloom to one person is relatively harmless to another. 

Can change then be judged by some measure of magnitude?  Here again, the event is in the eyes of the beholder.  While a majority of people might conclude that a significant change has happened, it doesn’t mean consensus; there might still be others that look upon the event and yawn.  So magnitude is also a relative measure and not a reliable indicator of the significance of an event.

A great reflection to use when you’re facing into a moment of change then is to shift your perspective.  Look at others who may be directly involved and those that are on the periphery.  How are they interpreting the experience and what reaction(s) are they having?  Assume for the moment that their perspective is correct and yours is misguided.  Allow yourself to experience the event as if you were literally in their shoes.  Take the role of the traffic officer collecting witness statements, and then with that additional information, draw your own conclusion.  Taking the time to reflect before acting may just save you time and frustration while allowing you to be more circumspect in judging the situation.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more by visiting www.connect2action.com.