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5 Steps to follow before committing to anything
By Douglas E. Welch
Listen: 5 Steps to follow before committing to anything
[audio:http://welchwrite.com/career/audio/2008/career-op-20080905.mp3]Get daily career tips on Twitter, Friendfeed and now, in video, on Seesmic.
We make commitments, large and small, every day, but one easy way to destroy your reputation and your career is to fail to deliver on these commitments. In passing we might say, “Oh, yeah, I’ll take care of that” only to forget about it until the deadline is dangerously close. Those around you will quickly discover that you don’t live up to your commitments. Then you and your work will be marginalized and you will come to be seen as someone who cannot be trusted. I am sure you can see where this might lead.
So, if commitments are so important we must work very hard to only accept commitments we are willing and able to carry out. We must avoid the knee jerk response of “Yeah, I’ll handle that” and replace it with more considered thought. If we don’t, we risk trapping ourselves in commitments we don’t want or can’t deliver. Even worse, trying to live up to all these unwanted commitments can hamper the more important work we want and need to do.
The first step to qualifying your commitments is to take a 5 step process towards evaluating them. This enforces at least a small amount of consideration and should help you from falling into un-keepable commitments .
- Am I capable of doing this task? Do I have the skills necessary or will I have to take extra time acquiring those skills?
- Do I have the time to accomplish this task? What other commitments have I already made? What deadlines are approaching? How does this commitment fit into the workflow of what I already have?
- Is this task potentially troublesome due to politics, difficult people, management by committee, poorly defined scope or other issues?
- What benefits do I gain from taking on this commitment? Is it a high profile assignment where I will receive the credit or tedious work that no one else wants to do?
- Do I want to do it? While this comes last in the process, it is one of most important aspects to consider.
Now let’s take these steps one at a time.
Think clearly about the commitment. If you are going to have to take a class or do extensive reading to complete the task, is it worthwhile for you to do it or would it be better handled by someone else. Sure, you want to grow in your work, but setting yourself up for failure is never a good idea.
Managing your time and organizing your work is so important in this world of multiple commitments and multi-tasking. If you re already overburdened then you need to do all you can to protect yourself. Sure, you don’t want to be seen as someone who is constantly turning down work, but you also have to be realistic about your own capabilities. Don’t over-extend yourself, or you will not be able to deliver on your commitments.
We all have difficult people, troublesome committees and conflicting politics at our workplace. Getting involved in hotspots like these can only end badly. You won’t be able to avoid all entanglements, but it is certainly worth consideration when you take on any commitment.
You deserve to benefit from your good work. Avoid commitments where others can take the credit while leaving you all the work. Again, if you have worked in your company long enough, you will already know the co-workers to avoid. Do yourself a favor and consider who you might be partnering with on this task.
Finally, your own personal choice can and should drive every commitment you undertake. I firmly believe that you can only do your best work when you are engaged in the task. Working on projects that do not interest you nearly guarantees poor work and bad results. If you can honestly say that you want to do this work, then it can override the previous steps, but do so carefully and with consideration. Be honest with yourself and those around you.
If you put each potential commitment through these 5 steps, you may not guarantee success, but you certainly start your work on a better footing. You may not be able to avoid every bad assignment, but thinking through the commitment can show you ways to make it as successful as possible, even if it isn’t perfect. A little thought can go a long way towards building the career your deserve.
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