[April 20, 2018] The army Captain barked that he was looking for a commitment from all the 2nd Lieutenants going through the basic course at Fort Benning, Georgia. We all asked ourselves why he was even saying this; of course, we were “committed.” But what we later discovered was that his interest was more … it was for us to rise to the top of our profession through action.
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” – Vince Lombardi, American football coach
Is it worth dying for? That is what the Captain wanted us to ask ourselves. Were we willing to die for an ideal; to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States (as we had sworn to do) and to protect the country from all enemies? If we were honest about this, most of us had not really given it much thought.
The bottom line is that commitment is what separates doers from dreamers. Today we here about what people “dream” themselves to be and somehow that matters. To those of us who’ve been there, dreaming is okay but not enough to cross the finish line. Commitment to any goal results in actual behavior that achieves something.
Most folks know from experience that some leaders talk about commitment but they really don’t have any action to back it up. Yes, they want commitment but most of this is usually just words to get our attention. It’s something they heard and they repeat old, worn-out phrases.
Leadership commitment is demonstrated by the willingness to be taught.1 And when we are willing to learn – and only then when combining with action – will we rise to the top of our profession.
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Excellent article. Thank you Mr. Satterfield.
Director Comey should be keeping his mouth shut and himself out of public view. When you attack a US President you can expect your whole life to be put under a microscope and every decision you ever made questioned. Comey doesn’t seem to care or is simply stupid (which he is not). So what explains his behavior?
You are spot on with this comment. Too sad that a capable man can allow his ego get ahead of his past good works.
Commitment has a number of meanings and is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot and misused. But what it really means is that you are committed to an organization and its people and will do nothing to jeopardize them. Enter from the left, ex-FBI Director James Coomey who has NO COMMITMENT to the FBI or America.
Best comment today !!
The story of James Coomey will end with his embarrassment and possibly charged with leaking classified information. I hope so. Otherwise we are no longer a nation of laws. The biggest leader failure of all has been in the American media; they disgraced themselves.
This whole Comey thing is about to blow up in his face. After leaking classified information just to get back at a US President (triggering an investigation) has had the effect of damaging the security of the United States. No one knows what will happen now but Comey is clearly in trouble.
For those who are real leaders, this weekend will be another busy time. For the rest of us, just relax and don’t worry about anything. If that rings true, then you are probably not a good leader.
Very informative and entertaining leadership blog.
I think my dad would agree. Cheers!
Good Friday reading. Thanks Gen Satterfield.
When I was a young boy, my little league baseball coach said that he could tell in seconds which of us were committed to the game and those who were there only because their parents made them go. Those who didn’t have “heart in the game” were told to go home. The rest of us stayed and won the town championship that year.
I had a similar experience in Abilene Texas High School basketball. I played on the team but was always wondering if I’d be cut from the team for not showing the commitment by coach wanted. This was a great learning experience although I didn’t think so at the time.
I know the readers here have heard of Amy Wax, the distinguished professor at the Univ of Penn Law School who said this and much more. She has been called a racist and accused of other similar things for stating what is obviously the truth. In the “Reading List” at this website you will find some articles about her. This is relevant to any discussion about commitment.
Good points here Janna. I googled her name and came up with a number of excellent articles on the incident and by her. Very educational and very sad about the lack of moral courage in so many college administrators.
The story of crazy PC needs to be told. Amy Wax is just the tip of the spear for intellectual freedom.
Over the past week, we’ve seen a host of articles here that get to the root of what could be considered professional development for up and coming leaders. I recommend we pass along lessons we’ve also learned from life so others don’t have to repeat our mistakes. See this outdated but relevant article on just this issue. http://www.nextech.com/blog/learning-from-the-mistakes-of-others-the-snowden-incident
New to this leadership website and I like what I see. Thanks for an enlightening article today.
Welcome Albert. Thanks for reading theLeaderMaker blog.
Thank you. I look forward to contributing to your leadership blog. 🙂
My favorite quote:
“If we commit ourselves to one person for life, this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather, it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession but participation.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
The concept of commitment has been an interest of study by psychologists for ages. Here is a pretty good article in Psychology Today that gives us a good education on it. BTW, Psy Today is a very biased publication but this particular article is okay so I recommend it as a companion piece to today’s leadership blog.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shift-mind/200910/what-do-we-mean-commitment
Good article today. Thank you Gen. Satterfield.
I’m always around people with plenty of commitment being in the US Army but there are times when a soldier lacks that special quality. Either he changes or he’s out. I like it that way. So what if the military is built on those who want to be there. Such self selection is a good thing.
Self-selection occurs in all organizations to a certain degree and those who join the US military WANT TO JOIN. That is a good thing because they are 1) motivated, 2) committed, and 3) smart enough to know to follow the guidance and orders of their superiors.
Marriage, job, hobby, you name it and today most folks (at least in the West) don’t have the commitment to see things through. How very sad a state of affairs.
Good article today on something many young people don’t have. Maybe that said that of my generation but I doubt it. Look, young people today don’t even want to get “married” because it infringes on their freedom. Like they know what freedom is really about. Commitment makes the world go around. It forces you to be MATURE; go figure.
I’m a Vince Lombardi fan from long ago and so I like anyone who quotes from him. He was the epitome of a person with commitment and one who could get others to do the same. His exploits on and off the football field are legendary. It’s all about commitment (well, almost all).