Should You Be Committed?

 My primary pet peeve is…

Lack of Commitment!!

http://www.implementingscrum.com/

 

 

There are a multitude of stories where people haven’t done what they said they would. So often people say the words but are not willing to go out of their way and do the work to create the right result. Recently at a basketball game, the coach reminded his players about practice the following day. I was shocked by what I heard. One player replied “maybe I’ll be there” and another said “I work tomorrow”. These might possibly be legitimate excuses EXCEPT practice has been on that day and at that time for the past couple months! These players lacked the ability to commit themselves to what was best for the team and could not follow through on what they had agreed to at the beginning of the season.

 

It’s a Necessity

With the attitude of the above players they will never be a great team. They will forever be stuck with mediocre, if they’re lucky. No team, no business, no event will succeed if no one is willing to take responsibility for their roles. You can’t run a good basketball practice if only 9 out of 12 players show up. Instead you end up with a slightly sloppy practice as every one is trying to cover roles of those who are missing.

 

The Consequences are Growing

I’m obsessive about being on time and following through on my commitments. However, I don’t show up for personal meetings or group get togethers a minute early any more, because more often than not I’ve been left waiting for another 10 to 15 minutes. To me it is a complete lack of respect for my time. There are a lot of things that I need to get done in a day, waiting for someone is definitely not one of them. When people don’t show up the rest of us are left rushing to cover their responsibilities. The biggest problem is that we never confront people about these issues, we’re just too darn nice. So unfortunately the people who don’t show have no idea how much of a hassle and how much stress they caused. Don’t get me wrong, I recognize that sometimes you absolutely cannot get out of another commitment, but at the very least make sure that someone knows that you are going to be missing so that they can be prepared for the role they need to take on. Now this doesn’t mean a random email late at night when no one is actually checking, but actually thinking ahead and if no one replies you call to ensure that someone is able to cover for you.

 

This is not to say that I’m perfect. I’m far from it…seeing as how yesterday I slept through my alarm and didn’t make it to church. Life happens… but for the most part, people know that something bizarre occurred if I’m a no show as opposed to being one of ‘those’ people who we’re surprised when they actually  show up.