Are you Committed or Merely Involved?
“Commitment is an act, not a word.” – Jean-Paul Sartre
I once heard the story about the difference between the behavior of a pig and a chicken at breakfast. The chicken is involved. The pig is committed. Are you involved in the game of life or are you really committed?
I also heard an anecdote about an unnamed professional services firm that operated as a partnership with multiple divisions. They had a long-standing problem with one of their divisions and the partners that ran that part of the business. My understanding was that several managing partners knew of the problem for over 10 years. They admired it but did nothing to solve it. The ultimate outcome was not a good one. Could it have been more satisfactorily resolved? We will never know for sure but a lot of people were involved. How many were committed?
The Difference between Commitment and Involvement
com•mit•ment;
- To commit oneself—to speak or act in such a manner as to bind oneself to a certain line of conduct
in•volve•ment;
- To be involved—to occupy the attention of
WEBSTER’S NEW TWENTIETH CENTURY DICTIONARY UNABRIDGED – SECOND EDITION
Using these definitions, to be involved is not inherently bad. In fact, the matter or matters at hand have your attention; i.e., they are not being ignored. Attention is like awareness; you can’t deal with what is not present to you. What is missing in merely being involved is closure because there is no direction implied in the definition. Involvement lacks decisions about required actions, but getting your attention can be a precursor to commitment.
Commitment requires decisions and actions at a much greater level than involvement. It implies ownership and responsibility for making a decision and acting on it. It is a result and purpose orientation rather than a mere process orientation. Yes, there usually will be a thought process and a discussion as part of making a decision, especially when a choice involves others. Once the decision is made, however, one assumes a duty to act with an intended result.
What does Commitment Look Like?
“Does anybody really think that they didn't get what they had because they didn't have the talent or the strength or the endurance or the commitment?” – Nelson Mandela
There are a lot of emotions associated with committing to a result. First, let’s look at the rational aspect of making a decision. If you are committed to something big you have probably done one or more of the following, and not necessarily in this order:
- Identified the problem, the issue or the opportunity
- Looked at alternatives and the strengths and weaknesses of each alternative
- Verified your assumptions
- Discussed the matter with others
- Obtained expert opinion where necessary
- Articulated an expected outcome
- Developed an action plan and stress-tested it with what-if questions or scenarios
- Solicited final input
- Worked your plan
Not every commitment requires this level of detail but for the big commitments, your actions will break down if you are operating on wishful thinking instead of grounded, workable plans. Can you successfully answer the question: “Have I done everything possible to commit myself to a successful outcome?” Yes, we know that not all decisions and actions meet our expectations or the expectations of others, but that does not absolve us of the responsibility to act with eyes, heart and head wide open.
Your Personal Commitment
“The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” – Vince Lombardi
“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action and discipline that enabled us to follow through." – Zig Ziglar
What is your hot button? Is it excellence, or character or discipline? Do you have a theme (one word) that drives you? In a previous essay regarding the power of words I pointed out the importance of words as follows: “I prefer to look at words as having the ability to move myself and others for good, with power and direction.” Committing to a one-word theme is something you can always come back to when you need to commit to a course of action. The bottom line is that committing to a word can also commit you to an action
Your word may be a value. Maybe it is honesty, integrity or fairness. Your values play an important part in enabling and empowering you to make a commitment. Perhaps you are unable to make a commitment because you are concerned about violating one of your core values. It is important to know that you are unwilling to commit to something because it violates your values and not merely because you can’t decide to move forward. Your code of conduct, in this case, requires that you will not violate your values.
Your word may be the ideal in terms of how you would like the world or our country to function. Maybe it is how you want your family, your community or your place of worship to empower people. Perhaps it is the environment that you want to create at work or how you want to be known as a boss or worker. The idea is to commit your actions to align with your ideal.
Why We Need Commitment
“Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.” – W.H. Murray
Basically, we are not an island unto ourselves. We are connected at various levels to all of humanity. We need more people to stand for something, and as I have said previously, lest they fall for anything. We are all leaders in our own fashion but the question is what are we leading to? Do you want to be known for your non-involvement? Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we committed to our own success and those we touch?
It is ok to question yourself and the decisions you have made previously. This is one of the ways we learn; namely, by coming up with better solutions. The world is constantly changing and we must adapt. Change should not be an excuse to prevent us from acting but rather it is an opportunity to do better.
The answer always rests inside our true self, not the self we have learned to project to the world because of our conditioning. If we are honest with ourselves we usually know the right thing to do, and we need to work the “resolve” muscle by committing to do it. What can you commit to now?
And, there is more, there always is.
Be genuine.
Copyright 2014 © John J. Trakselis, Chicago CEO Coaching
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