Photo: Elizabeth Dalziel/AP

Visitors in Beijing watch the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square at dawn on the 18th anniversary of the violent end of student protests.

Begin by re-taking the Agreement Self Survey that you took on the very first day of this practice.

There many lessons to be learned in this practice:

* How we make too many commitments–more than we can keep
* How we make commitments that we don’t really want to make… from lack of mindfulness, fear of disappointing others, or from trying to live up to an image of who we would like to be rather than the truth of where we are
* How we make unclear agreements, with ambiguity that is a recipe for potential misunderstanding
* How to balance all the commitments we make and their sometimes competing demands
* How to actually remember all of our commitments and their implications
* What to do when we want to change or renegotiate a commitment
* How to deal with not having kept a commitment
* The impact of how we do or don’t keep our word in our relationships
* The potential for increased power and effectiveness in being disciplined with our word

What are you taking away from the Power of the Word?
What are the implications for you as a leader?
How can you use the Power of the Word in your work as an agent of transformational change?

The practice:
Be conscious every time you give your word.
(To yourself as well as to others.)
Keep every commitment… 100% impeccably!

Adapted from the practices of Robert Gass.

“Half the promises people say were never kept, were never made.”
Ed Howe (1853 - 1937) Magazine & Newspaper editor

Let’s take one more day, really watching others in interaction around commitments and accountability.

Be also thinking about how, as an agent of transformational change, you can successfully intervene with individuals and/or groups around issues of accountability.

How do you raise this issue without triggering peoples’ defensiveness?
What about when you have more investment in this issue than others?
How do you deal with this when you have positional power? How to avoid taking on the thankless and ultimately ineffective role of accountability police?

The practice:
Be conscious every time you give your word.
(To yourself as well as to others.)
Keep every commitment… 100% impeccably!

also–continue the new variation for today:

Watch every interaction of others–individuals and groups–from the perspective of 100% impeccability around commitments. Notice the language people use around commitments. Notice how people do and don’t hold themselves and each other accountable

Adapted from the practices of Robert Gass.

The practice:
Be conscious every time you give your word.
(To yourself as well as to others.)
Keep every commitment… 100% impeccably!

also–new variation for today:

Watch every interaction of others–individuals and groups–from the perspective of 100% impeccability around commitments. Notice the language people use around commitments. Notice how people do and don’t hold themselves and each other accountable.

“Leaders who win the respect of others are the ones who deliver more than they promise, not the ones who promise more than they can deliver.”
Mark A. Clement

“Promise little and do much.”
Jewish Proverb

Let’s use the lens of impeccability to examine each of the groups with whom you work.

What are the group norms around keeping your word?
Do people do what they say they will do?
Do people take the time to make sure their agreements and expectations are really clear?
Is there a culture of accountability?
What happens (if anything) when someone doesn’t deliver on a commitment?
Does the group tolerate certain individuals regularly not being accountable?
Does the group as a whole keep its word impeccably?
What is the impact on performance?
What is the impact on trust and cohesion?

Fill out the Group Accountability Survey for each team, board, coalition, etc.
Review the data for each of the groups.
What, if anything, do you want to do with what you see here?

The practice:
Be conscious every time you give your word.
(To yourself as well as to others.)
Keep every commitment… 100% impeccably!

also:

Watch every interaction of others–individuals and groups–from the perspective of 100% impeccability around commitments. Notice the language people use around commitments. Notice how people do and don’t hold themselves and each other accountable.

Adapted from the practices of Robert Gass.