commitment Archives - Dennis E. Gilbert

28
May 21
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Achieving Objectives Happens When You Commit

Tags : accomplishments commitment goals objectives

Are you good at achieving objectives? Do you have goals or metrics used to measure progress?

When you say you want to take a trip to visit another country, read a book that has been sitting on your shelf, or complete the degree you started right after high school, do you start your sentence with, “Someday.”

Someday I…

want plant a vegetable garden.

want to start exercising again.

hope to get a new car.

There is a problem with someday. It doesn’t lock you in. You haven’t really committed, and as a result, there is a good chance, you’ll never achieve it.

Something else will always get in your way. Something that seems urgent, more important at the moment, or maybe your budget just doesn’t seem to allow it.

Career minded people often find themselves vaguely committing. They vaguely commit to more education, vaguely commit to a book, or vaguely commit to pursuing a posted job opportunity.

Time slips by and perhaps none of it happens.

Achieving Objectives

The truth for everyone is that three years from now, or ten years from now you are going to arrive someplace? A place in time, a milestone, a point on your journey. The question to ask yourself is, Where?

Where will you arrive, what will that look like, how will things be different.

Achieving your objectives starts with commitment. You need to set a date. You may even need to pick a place, a venue, or a destination.

Sometimes when there is a deadline, things seem to stick. The commitment is there, there isn’t any more room for procrastination, delays, or waiting.

The bigger the objective, the more checkpoints that may be required. Have you budgeted appropriately? Have you studied as you should have? Will you take that first big leap that starts the process?

Never starting is one of the first places people stop.

The clock is ticking. Without commitment you won’t get very far.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

14
May 21
-

Building Workplace Trust Means Follow Through

Tags : commitment empowerment job task trust volunteer

Have you faced challenges with building workplace trust? What are the reasons? Do you simply not trust someone, or is there more to it than that?

Trust is an essential part of workplace productivity. You’ll spend less time communicating instructions, following up, and worrying about the status when you trust those assigned to the work.

Trust is about more than being truthful or telling lies. When you ask someone what breaks down trust in their work environment they’ll often suggest that it is a lack of commitment to seeing job tasks or duties all the way through to completion.

This means that employees must be dependable, it also means that they must be accountable for their actions and behaviors. Including completing assigned work or following through on promises made.

What is in a promise?

In the meeting when you commit to performing an action item, you just made a promise. It is on your to-do list.

At the next meeting, it may be anticipated that you’ll give a status update or show the completed work. The team has trusted you to deliver.

If you don’t deliver, you’ve just let others down.

They may not trust you the next time.

Building Workplace Trust

What’s stopping people from delivering? It could be discipline or commitment to sticking with the task. It could be focus or time management. Among many things, it may also be connected to empowerment.

Employees who are not empowered are less committed. They are less loyal, and often come up short on expectations. This is both a boss and direct report problem, it isn’t one sided.

Empowered employees feel more responsibility. More responsibility means that their image or reputation is on the line. Passing the buck isn’t an option.

When you need commitment and follow through, you’re going to need trust. You’re going to need empowerment.

Building more is intentional. It is unlikely to happen by chance or by accident.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

04
May 21
-

Best Stories Are Not a Necessarily a Good Tactic

Tags : commitment persistence real world stories success

Do you work from the best stories? Do you ask someone how they attained a promotion, got the job, or closed the sale?

When you ask someone about their success, they’ll often have a story.

Many stories get embellished over time. The fish gets bigger and the near loss of it because the line nearly broke, twice.

It is a part of human nature.

On the other side, sometimes people are more modest or humble. They may claim they got lucky, had an easier time of it, or knew someone who knew someone.

On the luck side, there may be some truth. However, when luck isn’t managed properly can still result in a bad situation.

Best Stories

When you go to the conference, you’ll likely hear a few stories.

Stories of success, stories of failure that led to success, and stories of how easy it is if just follow this method.

People have been embellishing stories for many centuries.

What is the worst thing you can do?

Likely it may be chasing the shiny object or trying to emulate the story you’ve just been told. Is the story replicable? Has the person who delivered the story embellished the ease, the cost, or the commitment requirements?

Get rich quickly. Sell this product to a bunch of people and then they’ll sell it to a bunch of people and you’ll collect a little bit from each sale. Does that work?

It often sounds attractive on the surface, but underneath, somewhere in that chain, you’re not only a vendor but you’re also the customer. You’re often in the middle of nothing. When your efforts no longer provide value (since a commodity product has widespread availability) you’re not needed anymore.

Listen carefully to the best stories. Ask yourself if it is replicable, can it be done over and over again, or was it a rare circumstance with very unique properties? Will it work for your market? Do you completely understand your market?

When someone tells their best story, don’t miss the question-and-answer segment.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

14
Apr 21
-

Offer Something, When You Believe It’s Good Enough

Tags : commitment feedback growth pursuit of excellence

Only when you believe it’s good enough. Are you ready to offer something? Do you have the skills, have you completed the homework, and is your audience ready?

It’s true for the emerging leader and it’s true for the entrepreneur. Is there truth in it for your audience?

In the workplace your audience might be your boss or peers, it could even be your direct reports. Are they buying what you’re selling?

A shove to the face that you are doing good work doesn’t typically go over so well.

In fact, it may be counter-productive to your success. Saying that you’re doing good work in the hope of gaining buy-in might work, but it is much more powerful when they see it for themselves.

Customers are skeptical. They’ve been sold a wrongful bill of goods before and they’ve often vowed to not get taken advantage of again. If you’re proving yourself, more will likely join in. If you’ve overextended your reach and your attempts to tap into a bigger market fall flat, they may not see the value, yet.

Maslow insisted on the importance of self-actualization in his hierarchy of needs model. What is true for the individual may not be realized by your audience, your tribe, or your co-workers, yet.

Offer Something

It starts with the offer. The offer to help, to guide, or to illustrate.

It should be generous, kind, and delivered with empathy.

Is your market ready? Have you proven yourself? Do you have testimonials, cheerleaders, and sponsors?

When you believe what you offer is good enough, the selling part has just begun. Authenticity will matter, it can make or break the deal.

Feedback will also be important because without it you’re standing still. You’re either stopped or stalled. Almost nothing is the same tomorrow as it will be today.

Some things get a little better with time. Only to decline once beyond the peak. Fresh fruit is a great metaphorical example. Perhaps an analogy of your expertise.

When you offer something, not everyone is always ready, including you.

When you are willing to be persistent with your offer, accept honest feedback, and commit to the continued pursuit of delivery you’ll find your audience and your market.

What isn’t working today just hasn’t developed enough.

Yet.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

09
Apr 21
-

Work Promises, Are You Keeping Them?

Tags : commitment communication promise workflow

Are you in the habit of handing out work promises? Promising to do this, or do that? Are some of the promise’s expectations?

Work promises are always happening.

I’ll get this done before the next meeting.

This won’t take long, I’ll do it before Noon.

I’ll call the customer.

Promises are an offer to contribute. They set an expectation and are often evidence of teamwork and commitment.

Sometimes promises start the meeting. They illustrate the agenda, set the expectations, and confirm a timeline.

Sometimes promises end the meeting. They confirm the to-do list, establish the next meeting date, and congratulate positive outcomes.

When expectations are set, people are counting on you. A promise is intended to quell worry, provide a solution, and most of all, be reliable.

What work promises are you giving?

Work Promises

Does your workplace have trust? Do you trust someone that they will get the project finished on time and with good quality? Have you ever been let down?

Workplace trust, or lack of it, is a leading cause of dysfunctional teams.

Employees often underestimate the commitment or expectation of a promise made. There is sometimes a good intention, the offer of help, and a gesture of kindness. If unfulfilled other promises and commitments get trampled and are broken.

In examples of poor leadership, the leader goes only to people he or she can trust. Meanwhile the best performers get stuck with doing more while poorer performers are allowed to go unchecked.

Managers and supervisors who are unable or unwilling to address problem performers cause more dysfunction.

Promises are sometimes made and other times they are assumed.

Either way a promise is both a commitment and an obligation.

Teams that are both functional and reliable will have stronger results.

I promise.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

05
Apr 21
-

Workplace Disqualification, Does It Happen Often?

Tags : career commitment disqualified job promotion skills

If you are navigating outside of the boundaries you might get disqualified. Arriving too late, doing too little, or fighting the system are all matters possibly leading to workplace disqualification. Have you ever been disqualified? Do you know someone who should be?

It has happened at the Kentucky Derby, it has happened at the Olympic Games, and it has happened in baseball, golf, and racing. It happens in the workplace too.

Sometimes disqualification isn’t apparent but it is still present.

Skipped on the list of meeting participants? Overlooked for a promotion?

It may not always mean that you are not qualified, it may mean that you’re not working up to a standard.

Being disqualified likely means that you haven’t met expectations. Did you promise something that you didn’t achieve? Did you agree to do your part on the project but let others down?

You may not realize it, but you might have been disqualified.

Workplace Disqualification

The workplace is filled with lots of variants when it comes to ebbs and flows. There certainly are workplace dynamics and politics. Are you effectively navigating them? Are you winning with customers and vendors, or are you feeling short-changed?

Walk onto a car sales lot. You may find a number of people who can take your order for a car. You may only find one or two that you wouldn’t quickly disqualify.

When the boss distributes workflow. There may be several employees who are qualified, but there may be only one who doesn’t get disqualified.

It is true for on-the-job advancement or getting promoted too. Theoretically, there are a number of people who are capable, but many of them are disqualified from the beginning.

It is even true for job seekers. The interview process is not always about qualifications, that may have already been established. Often it is about finding the one or two nuggets that will boot you from consideration. Disqualified!

Aligning outcomes with expectations is where you should apply your best effort. Commit to both understanding and delivering on what is expected and you’ll be much less likely to face disqualification.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

16
Mar 21
-

Outcome Commitment, Do You Have It?

Tags : commitment discipline learning metrics outcomes

Each tick of the clock or the change in the small series of figure eight shaped LED bars means time is in motion. Many people see their work as a race against time. Do you have outcome commitment or are you just running through the motions?

At the start of a shift, people are either looking to roll up their sleeves and get dirty, or they’ve thrown the switch, and the count down to the end of the shift has just begun.

Going through the motions is a terrible waste. It means that there really isn’t progress and that the outcome of yesterday is all that remains as a guide for today.

Things are different now. A switch was thrown in early 2020 with the Worldwide pandemic.

The switch meant that moving forward was going to require change. While some progress was hindered and government agencies forced closed doors and shutdowns, others were on the move.

There was change, a shift, and a pivot.

Outside of government forced closures, those with great commitment had to trudge on.

Outcome Commitment

Workforce sectors were forced to learn and grow all the while education is reportedly in shambles. Young people in traditional K-12 education systems are reportedly struggling, while in the adult world those who choose to make learning a priority have grown.

The difference might be a reflection of the commitment.

There is a chance that something better is on the other side. It’s on the other side of disappointment, despair, and devastation. The opportunity is there for those who are committed.

When you know where you are going and you can describe it, there is a much better chance you’ll get there.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

01
Mar 21
-

Workplace Commitment Results in Something

Tags : change change management commitment pivot strategy

The team doesn’t like the new announcement and psychologically they commit to finding ways to state that it won’t work. In contrast, they love the new announcement and push even harder for end-users to adapt to the new standard. Workplace commitment is often the difference between forward motion or being stuck.

Things are always changing. We’re in a world of constant change. If you are not changing, it is simple, you’re stuck.

Outside of values, ethics, and integrity, success for nearly every organization depends on forward motion.

In the early 1900’s people may have liked their ice box. Sticking with one today seems a little silly. In the 1950’s people in business offices were addicted to their typewriters. Around the turn of the century during the early 2000’s, many people only used cellular phones for shorter or on-the-road calls, not as a primary device.

Workplace Commitment

Outside of your box, outside of your frame, things are happening. Early adopters always have the benefit of the upside of the curve.

The upside of the curve carries risk. It carries a risk for how tall the curve will become, how flat it is on top, and how slowly it will start to down on the other side.

Everyone has a choice for which they will commit.

In most cases, they’ll either commit to some risk and forward motion, or they’ll commit to staying stalled. Stalled arguably, may also be seen by onlookers as decline.

It’s important to know your own strategy for tomorrow. What you commit to will impact not only your own fate but perhaps the fate of the origins of your paycheck.

New and improved may not always feel better, especially at first.

The refrigerator required electricity. I suspect this was thought of as a disadvantage by many.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

08
Jan 21
-

Finding Instructions May Be All That You Need

Tags : career commitment knowledge learning

Finding instructions may be the missing piece, except when the willingness to put in the effort is absent.

Some have considered YouTube to be a game-changer. The hobby mechanic likely loves YouTube. The same is true for the 1980’s era MTV crowd who want to have their own private stream of music videos. This online video-sharing platform is still evolving, from offers of amateur reality TV to fashion shows to home improvements.

One hundred years ago if you needed to know how to work on a gasoline engine you probably needed a book. Otherwise, the knowledge had to be handed down from someone else in the know.

Fifty years ago, if your clothes dryer broke a belt you may have called a repairman. Today, if you have the willingness to put in the effort you likely can discover how to repair it yourself from an online video.

This type of access to knowledge, information, and instructions has never been easier. Yet it still requires one important thing, a willingness to do the work.

Finding Instructions

Most people don’t lack the ability to source the how-to, they lack the willingness of the want-to.

One argument is time. The time it takes to learn or the time it takes to do the task.

A house cleaner, a yard landscaper, or a swimming pool caretaker all provide some type of service to the purchaser. It may not be necessary, but it is a convenience or luxury.

In your job or career, you may not have the same luxury.

Do you want to grow in your workplace? Do you want to advance your knowledge or skills?

It has never been easier to find the instructions.

There is still a question though, do you have the willingness to do more?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

18
Nov 20
-

Flexible Resilience May Be The Change You Need

Tags : change commitment discipline ego resilience

Do you demonstrate flexible resilience? Having persistence and being resilient doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for flexibility.

It all starts with the mission or goal. It is a form of beginning with the end in mind. A vision for the path to arrive at a specific point at some future time.

People value the concept of being disciplined, persistent, and committed to the goal.

What happens when the goal seems out of reach or across time the vision may hint of needing a slight shift? What happens if the estimates or forecasts were wrong? Maybe the budget wasn’t enough or the human side of change slowed the projected progress?

Should you continue on the same path?

Chosen Path

People will sometimes go to great lengths in an attempt to prove that they were correct. Their wish is to illustrate that they have been correct all along, often in spite of any associated costs.

It may be wise to adjust the mission, shift the goals, and still achieve a higher level of success. Being stuck with a locked-in focus sounds like persistence and commitment but it may be a slippery slope down a never-ending rabbit hole.

Flexible resilience seems like a better choice.

Flexible Resilience

You can attempt to continue to pursue the original path or you can learn from missteps, correct the direction, and still achieve more than you have before.

The act of being resilient, persistent, and committed doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be learning, changing, and growing along the way.

Sometimes the cost of ego or pride is much higher than the cost of a slight shift in direction.

The most resilient know how to spot a rabbit hole before getting lost in it.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Tag Archives: commitment

May 21

-

Achieving Objectives

May 21

-

Building Workplace Trust

May 21

-

Best Stories

Apr 21

-

Offer Something

Apr 21

-

Work Promises

Apr 21

-

Workplace Disqualification

Mar 21

-

Outcome Commitment

Mar 21

-

Workplace Commitment

Jan 21

-

Finding Instructions

Nov 20

-

Chosen Path

Flexible Resilience

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