Behavior #12: Keep Commitments

Behavior #12: Keep Commitments, page 215.

Summary: Behavior #12 – Keep Commitments 

• Say what you’re going to do, then do what you’re going to do.
• Make commitments carefully and keep them.
• Make keeping commitments the symbol of your honor.
• Don’t break confidences.
• Don’t attempt to “PR” your way out of a commitment you’ve broken.

Behavior #12 – Keep Commitments

• Behavior #12 – Keep Commitments – is the “Big Kahuna” of all behaviors. It’s the quickest way to build trust in any relationship.
• Its opposite – to break commitments or violate promises – is, without question, the quickest way to destroy trust.
• When you make a commitment, you build hope. When you keep it, you build trust.
• The counterfeit of this behavior is to make commitments that are so vague or elusive that nobody can pin you down, or even worse, to be so afraid of breaking commitments that you don’t even make any in the first place.
• Keep Commitments is based on the principles of integrity, performance, courage, and humility.
• It’s closely tied to other behaviors, including Talk Straight and Deliver Results.
• It’s the perfect balance of Character and Competence. Particularly it involves Integrity (Character) and your ability to do what you say (Competence).

Impact on Trust

• There are implicit as well as explicit commitments, and the violation of either creates huge withdrawals of trust.
• Whether commitments are implicit or explicit, they will have an impact on speed and cost:
  • To violate them causes doubt suspicion, cynicism, and distrust that rusts the wheels of progress.
  • To keep them generates the hope, enthusiasm, confidence, and trust that increases momentum and lubricates the accomplishments of results.

Cultural Intelligence

• By being sensitive to the nature of commitments – both explicit and implicit – in different company cultures, you will be able to build trust much more quickly than if you’re insensitive or clueless.

The Most Important Commitments of All

• Making and keeping commitments to yourself is the key to success in making and keeping commitments to others. That’s where it all starts, and that’s what gives you the power and the confidence – the Self Trust – that enables you to build trust with others.

Trust Tips

• If you’re on the left side of the curve in this behavior – you’re not making enough commitments or not following through very well – you may need to focus on increasing your Integrity, strengthening your mutual benefit Intent, developing the Capability to repeatedly perform this behavior and turn it into a habit, or become more aware of the trust-building Results.
• If you’re on the right end – you may be overextending yourself by making too many commitments or by keeping your commitments at all costs, even when the situation changes and makes it impractical or unwise – you may need to focus on building the judgment that comes from strengthening all 4 Cores.

Improving Your Ability to Keep Commitments

• In establishing a new relationship where you want to build trust fast, follow this process:

1. Find a value-added reason to make a commitment
2. Keep it
3. And do it again
4. And again
5. And again

• Next time you make a commitment to someone at work, be sure the commitment is realistic.
  • Even if you have to disappoint someone, it’s far better to do it up front than to overpromise and underdeliver.
  • Make sure you follow through with what you’ve committed to do.
  • If you have to miss a deadline, attempt to renegotiate as early as possible; don’t just ignore it and be late.