Robin Sieger Blog

Peter Drucker once said, “Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes.”  My belief is that commitment is continuing to do the thing you determined to you long after your enthusiasm has died.  During periods of slow economic growth (or dare I say, recession) association leaders face challenges motivating staff, recruiting new organization members and fundraising.  It is particularly difficult to maintain or revive enthusiasm for the mission of the organization when morale is low.

Imagine your friend is going to sing in public. Now this is no ordinary friend, it is absolutely your best friend in the world, your number one buddy in your life, who you’ve known since childhood. With whom you’ve shared ups and downs, highs and lows, emotional traumas and the greatest successes of life.  You love this person. He’s been asked to sing in public and he’s agreed – you happen to know, however, that despite his natural gift and ability, he is very shy.  He’s been invited to a small recital in a local concert hall. He asks you to be there for him. He asks you to sit in the front row and give him a friendly face to look out to.  You promise him that come Hell or high water, you will be there. You will be there to help him face his concerns. You will be there to help him concentrate on the enjoyment of the moment, rather than the anxiety of facing a concert hall full of strangers.  Afterwards, you will be there to revel in the thrill of a job-well-done.

One question: Would you let him down?  No, I don’t think you would. You would honor your promise. You would want to share those moments with him. You wouldn’t dream of letting him down.

Why, then, do we let ourselves down so often?  Think about it. In the run up to your friends concert, imagine he started expressing doubt, getting cold feet and focusing on the negatives. What would you do?  Would you reinforce those beliefs or would you encourage your friend to concentrate on a more powerful outcome, a positive outcome, to believe in it being a success?  I think you would encourage him with all your heart.

Corporate and organization leaders who succeed in the realization of their goals have one thing in common – they stick with it and they succeed in getting everyone around them to do the same.

So, as a leader, how do you accomplish that? Persistence is the key. I have seen three specific tactics work for successful clients.  They include:

1) Believe in your ability to succeed.  We can fake commitment to other people for a little while, but we can’t fake it to ourselves, even for a moment. You must truly believe you can make a difference and succeed. Otherwise, you must re-address the Mission and the Goals.

2) Accept personal responsibility.  At a personal level, commitment and purpose are very closely linked. From purpose comes passion, which is the driving force behind making that next phone call to ask for the next large donation or sponsorship.  Passion must come from within and as the leader, you need to accept responsibility for maintaining your passion.

3) Face the possibility of failure.  Plan for setbacks. Plan for roadblocks. Plan for problems that seem insurmountable.  If you do those things – you can’t fail. You will have contingency plans and the confidence to change course – but you will never abandon your belief in your ability to succeed or your passion.  Hence you will stay the course to fulfill your Mission.

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