Honoring your word(s) …
“JUST DO IT.” is a slogan, mindset and methodology employed by Nike in 1988. Its’ origin isn’t so positive (I’ll leave the research up to the curiosity seekers) but it’s worked for Nike and has been adopted by many in the years since its inaugural TV commercial.
Why am I bringing this up? As a leader, mom, entrepreneur and periodic employment candidate, those words hit home this week. As I worked my way through my career, I learned early on that if you are truthful, transparent and follow through on the words that you speak, you will have followers for a lifetime. Yes, I am still mentoring some that crossed my path 20 years ago and am so honored to have made a difference.
When I was surviving through parenthood (yeah, there’s no manual for that one) and trying to be the best parent I could be (without lovingly maiming a prepubescent 7’ tall teen), I used those words to help us both navigate some challenges. I recall saying (a bazillion times) “if the words come out of your mouth – honor them. If you don’t think you can , think before speaking.”
As a potential employment candidate, I would reach out to advisors requesting input, guidance and occasionally, assistance. It’s a difficult position, to be job searching and if you know of anyone in this position – send them as much positivity as possible. It was one of these instances that occurred with me recently, where a coaching client reached out to someone who offered assistance and simply didn’t follow through.
Hmmm, being me and coaching, I questioned a little deeper – was it possible they were simply being nice by uttering the words – “absolutely, anything you need.” Through our discovery, the client mentioned the request was actually more specific and the response he received was “that’s right in my wheelhouse and I can do that.” The follow through didn’t happen and he was disheartened. Why? He put his faith in someone honoring their word. We worked through it and found an alternate solution – a little coaching goes a long way.
The bottom line is that we’re not all the same. We get busy. We handle things differently. But, we do owe each other the truthful transparency to honor our words – just do it. If you don’t feel you can, it’s much more beneficial to say “I don’t think that’s something I can do but let me go through my network and see if Ms/Mr/They might be willing.”
JUST DO IT – honor your words – as a leader, truthfulness, transparency and follow through go a very long way.