Values › Accountability › Commitment
Core value · Accountability family
Commitment
Sticking with people and promises
What does commitment mean as a core value?
Commitment as a core value means keeping faith with the people, promises and projects you’ve signed up to, and staying with them through the difficult stretches as well as the easy ones.
Anyone can keep a promise while it’s convenient. The third year, the difficult quarter, the friendship that has gone quiet: that’s where commitment really starts. You don’t sign up for things lightly, because once you have, leaving feels like a small betrayal of yourself as much as of anyone else. For you, staying is an active choice, one you keep making, especially on the days when walking away would be easier and nobody would really blame you.
What does commitment look like in practice?
- You turn down an exciting invitation because you’ve already said yes to something else.
- You stay in touch with a friend through a rough patch, even when the conversations are hard work.
- You finish a course you started long after the novelty has worn off.
- You think carefully before joining a board or committee, because you know you’ll see it through.
- You talk a disagreement through with your business partner long before you’d consider an exit.
When is commitment overplayed?
Commitment can keep you in things long after they’ve stopped being right: a role you’ve outgrown, a relationship that has become a habit, a project everyone privately knows should end. Leaving feels like failure, so you stay and call it loyalty. There’s a cost, too, in saying no to good new things because your diary is full of old promises. One way to keep it healthy is to recommit on purpose: once a year, you could ask whether the reason you signed up still holds, and be willing to end something well.
Often confused with
Commitment vs Dedication
Dedication is the wholehearted effort you pour into something. Commitment is the decision to stay with it, which holds even when the effort feels thin.
Commitment vs Loyalty
Loyalty is standing by a person or group, often against outsiders. Commitment is keeping faith with a promise, including promises you’ve made to yourself.
Commitment vs Persistence
Persistence is keeping going towards a goal despite setbacks. Commitment is about people and promises, and it matters most when there’s no finish line to reach.
Questions to sit with
- What are you still committed to mainly because leaving would feel like admitting a mistake?
- Which promise have you made recently without thinking about what it would cost to keep?
- Who is relying on you to stay the course right now, and how much do they know about what it’s costing you?
More values in Accountability
Keeping your word and owning the outcome.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
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