Thursday, August 5, 2010

Leadership and Commitments

To be a leader that has actual followers, you need to be able to demonstrate that you can keep commitments. Keeping commitments builds trust, shows you are reliable and dependable, shows the team that you care about them, and gives a solid example to follow.


Successful leaders realize and keep close to their heart the fact that people remember every action one completes, not necessarily every word. If you say you are going to do something, then do it! Otherwise it is an empty promise or commitment and then come the excuses of "I forgot" or "I ran out of time" etc. Every time an excuse is made, trust starts to break down. As trust breaks down so does your ability to lead.
 A simple way to keep commitments is to only make commitments that you intend to keep. Leadership is not easy and sometimes saying 'no' with a proper explanation will earn you more trust and determine your leadership success than saying 'yes' and no following through.

After you have made a commitment, write it down and keep track of it - whether there is a deadline involved, which you will need to follow up with during and after the course of action, even any roadblocks along the way so that you can understand and learn from your own actions. Do whatever it takes to follow through - your leadership is on the line.
 As a successful leader, you earn trust. By setting a good example in your business, you set the expectation of keeping commitments and integrity. Who wouldn't want to be known for that?

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