Commitment in Leadership: Are You Interested or Committed?

0:03Welcome to Leadership DNA, a podcast for those who aspire to be a better leader. Alongside Arturo Gomez, I'm Rob Cressy. Today's topic, commitment. Arturo, what is commitment? It's your promise. It's that simple. It is your promise. And it's broad in terms of what that promise entails or where it's directed towards. But your commitment is, our commitments are driven by promises that we make. And if you want to be the person that actually breaks promises, then your commitment will probably be quite low. But everything that we do that requires commitment is also an internal promise to ourselves or to, you know, a party or a group of individuals that we are committed and that we will do exactly what we say.

0:57And what we say should be driven around again, it's a, it's a place in time or a place that we want to be, whether it's improvement in our own personal lives or whether it's a commitment in, you know, through our professional careers or lives. So let's get to why this is important. And I've got sort of two things on this one for me, commitment is about my standard for myself. My standard is higher for myself than it is for any other person. And I consistently want to keep that that way. So the way that I do it, I'm all in, I'm all in on my life, my success, my ability to help other people.

1:43I am 100% committed because as I look at the clients I work with on the podcasting and the coaching side of things, there is one question that I ask all of them before they work with me and become my client. I say, are you interested or are you committed? Because so often I hear people say, Oh yeah, Rob, we've thought about launching a podcast. Cool. How long? Oh, for the last two years. We just haven't gotten around to it. The timing isn't right.

2:13Insert whatever excuse you want to hear because you hear them all the time on the flip side. Let's talk to let's talk about committed and being commit commitment and being committed. Why in the world are we doing this podcast right now? Because eight years ago, I made the commitment to learn how to podcast. I had no idea how to do it whatsoever, but I knew that my dreams were on the other side of this commitment.

2:38Since that day, I've been all in on being the best version of myself and committed to becoming the best podcaster so that I could deliver more value for you, for my audience and myself. I love it. I love it. I love it. It's a, yeah, it's, I mean, I think we, you know, in a previous podcast, we discuss growth mindset and how commitment actually plays into that.

3:03Without to me, commitment again, it's, you know, the promise it's without it. I don't think that progress for us is, is possible unless somebody is literally the universe is gifting you something, which, you know, I do believe in some way, shape or form that those things do happen. But I also believe that people through commitment and through hard work can also receive greatness from the universe based on, again, showing that you're here to show up every day. So it's, it, it also stems and materializes and has an origin in the, in the way that we value and appreciate ourselves. Nothing is going to drive that commitment and nothing is going to sign that dotted line for a promise.

3:54If we don't have a really high regard for what we want and who we are, you know, and it, I think, you know, four or five years ago, maybe actually now it's five years ago. Um, um, I made a commitment to push myself and challenge myself in new ways and left, essentially left a career that I was very comfortable in for 20 years to go and do something. Very different. Very different.

4:24Um, that commitment and that impetus to jump and to go look for other things was that my fear was that I was not, I was not even scratching the surface of where I could take what the realm of possibilities were for my life. And so I wanted to challenge myself in, in a lot of those ways were scary as hell at the time.

4:47But I actually looked back at the day, the time, um, my mindset when I, when I made the jump and my life is, I would say very different. And very different in a lot of great ways. There's nothing about regret that actually even comes into the conversation. I only regret that I, maybe I didn't challenge myself sooner.

5:13Um, but you know, we're on, we're on pace and we're heading, we're heading to where we want to go. And, uh, I'm excited about the, about the journey, but, um, you know, every day when I get up, it's, it is, it is, uh, there's something internal in me. And it's, it's like an alarm clock that pushes me, shoves me out of bed, but I'm okay with it.

5:35Like I'm, I'm okay with stepping out of bed at four in the morning, four 30 in the morning, four 45 in the morning, whatever the time is, because I know that, uh, the possibilities for the day, as long as I'm committed, um, are quite vast. So that's it. I think you said one word that resonates so much with me, regret or a lack thereof, because when I look at my commitment, it was all around, I didn't want to live a life where I regretted never giving it a shot at making my dreams happen. And so often they say, well, what is it like to quit your job or what is that moment? Is that super hard? And for me, the answer was no, that was the easiest thing in the world because I needed to know if I had it in me and I didn't want to live the rest of my life.

6:30I was wondering if I had only dot, dot in regret does not live in my world in any capacity. And I think that's one of the things about commitment is when you bring a certain level of commitment to yourself, you become committed in all areas of your life. And certainly as a higher performer where I don't see regret because I live in action and I'm not someone that was like, oh man, I didn't do that. Well, all that is commitment for me.

6:59What do you think about regret? And does that enter your world at all? It enters my world as a more as like fuel and like a catalyst for something that I, so I, you know, I fear regret. I fear living in regret. And so that it, in, that's the only way that it would come into my mind that, you know, that I have to continue to move things forward.

7:28And, and I'll tell you what, man, the last five years have also been the most challenging five years of my, of my life. And, and there were points of times where things got scary because, you know, I made some real commitments to leave something that was very soft and cushy. I wasn't happy. Um, and so it was time for me to leave, but, you know, when you make those types of decisions, you, you also, you know, potentially put yourself in a space that could be quite uncomfortable. But, um, for me, there is no, there is no other, there was no other option. I also, I also look back. I look back at my, at my life and I look back at the things that I felt that I feel really proud of that I was able to accomplish.

8:18Um, and there was, as with everybody, you know, our lives aren't filled with win, win. I mean, there's not a thousand in the win column. There's, there's plenty of losses and those things are, are also fuel and education to continue to improve. But the things that I would say that I look back on, um, the commitment was at the forefront of all those things.

8:41It's like, you know, when I was in, you know, when I was in grade school and I wanted to become a much greater competitive soccer player, it required me going to the park every day, every day. It, my dad used to laugh at me because I would take a shovel to the park for the tennis courts in the middle of the winter. And I would shovel off space for myself to practice on the tennis courts, um, you know, going to, you know, you know, the university of Michigan.

9:10It, my previous academic background was very strong, but I was insanely challenged at the people that were around me. This is, you know, you were, you were, you know, some of the brightest minds in the country were there and it required an insane commitment on my end to actually put myself in a space where I thought that I could actually compete with everybody.

9:33And so throughout my life, early, middle and current, everything that I look back on that I say that I was, you know, that I was quite proud of, um, required a tremendous amount of commitment. You couldn't have done it in any other way. Yeah. And I was really invested in a coaching program that was more than I'd ever spent in my entire life. And it was something where he's like, I need to know right now before this call is done, if you're going to do this. And I made that commitment in a crazy thing happens. What do you think my growth and maturation was like for this program in the three months when I made that commitment to myself?

10:42And it was one of the biggest gifts I had ever learned in my life. Making one of my biggest investments in myself was the commitment that I needed to take myself to the next level because it was a new level of all in for myself. I was like, I'm now all in. So I showed up to this program in a way that no other person who was a part of it did. And he said, what you put into this is what you're going to get out.

11:11And when I'm sitting there, I'm like, man, I made this huge investment in myself. I was like, I am going all in. I am doing everything. I'm doing everything that they say for this. And a crazy thing happens. The results are incredible. And my commitment to this program was so strong. Now that it ended last Friday, I'm doing all eight weeks over again as a way of running it back because I didn't just want to be someone who said, oh, I learned this amazing stuff for eight weeks. I'm good moving on.

11:39I'm like, maybe I missed some stuff because I was so running hot on this commitment side of things. And it is such a blessing. And I wish I could give commitment to everybody else because when you're committed to something, nothing can stop you. Yeah, that's right. That's it. And, you know, fundamentally, it just kind of just kind of have that self-love, man. Just be really interested in taking care of number one.

12:07And if you are, then commitment comes side by side. That's part of the commitment package. I mean, you have to really have high value and high regard for yourself and for what it is that you want to achieve. So, and I think it's, you know, it's maybe easier said than done. And I have had conversations with people that, you know, trying to get through to them and let them understand that, hey, this is a process. And you have to, again, you know, you have to have some commitment to really make these changes. That it's been, it's hard sometimes to show that potential to people. But, you know, I've certainly had people that have been able to break through very quickly.

12:58You know, and that realize all of a sudden that, oh, sh*t, this is something that we can mature and that over a period of time, we can, you know, make some developments. And so that's it. So let's speak about the team side of things, because I think when we look at leadership, there's going to be commitment to the team.

13:22You as the leader being committed to them, because if you're a leader who is not committed to your team, well, you're just not a leader then. And if we look at the team dynamic, are you committed to them and are they committed to you because there's two sides of the coin? Yeah. I mean, 1,000%. I think that we could have conversations with current and previous partners and employees.

13:49And I think that the answer would be unequivocally yes, that we 100% felt that from Arturo. And that is something I'm extremely proud of. But in order to create change, in order to be that catalyst to change, again, it's, you know, I feel like there's some redundancy in things that I'm saying because it's just the facts. It's the truth. And so, and people pick up on that.

14:19You know, sometimes there doesn't necessarily need to be a conversation, you know, that says, I'm committed to you need to be committed to me. You know, people pick up on, they see it. You know, they see how hard you're working. They see the intensity that you bring. They see the level of excellence that you will not allow to go below, you know. So when the commitment's there, really great things happen. Change occurs, sometimes more rapidly than not.

14:48But it, you know, it requires that promise. And I love that because, to me, commitment is something that you live. Or oftentimes, when I think about commitment, I think about earned confidence. That when you're committed, it just shows. I've never said to anybody, look at Rob, he's committed over here. No, no, no. This, like we said, this is the entry point to the game that we're playing. You're all in on this.

15:16So let's get to Arturo, how you can help your team be committed. Because there's going to be potentially various levels of commitment within a team where, boom, you're all in. You're doing your thing. But not everybody's seeing everything the way that you are. And you're going to have some people who are committed to maybe one area. But they might not actually be committed to all areas of their life. So there could be an opportunity where someone shows up and is committed to working with you.

15:45But then you look and they're not committed to their health or working out or their finances or their relationship. And how do you handle a situation like that? Well, sorry. All right. So I'll approach the question really from a perspective of kind of in the work team or the corporate team. Certainly applicable, I think, in the context of any team.

16:11I think you have to have, obviously, process, processes, structure. That, to me, is a commitment by whoever's leading this team that we are going to have some real organization, that we are going to have a vision, that we are going to have goals. And holding people accountable to those standards is where it starts. I mean, I think that people will inherently feel that there is a commitment by the business, by the leader, by the owner, by whomever.

16:40If there is real structure. You also have to make commitments to bringing this is not, with reference to team and corporate. There are no free rides. There are no free rides. And the commitment that I've made to myself as a business owner, as a leader, is that I don't look at giving people opportunity that are not clearly fit into the box.

17:10As a charity case. But I also will make sure that I am committed to making sure that there has to be some semblance of this individual that fits into the criteria that I need. I don't bring people into my space, work or personal, unless I feel like they will be committed. And this guy, this coach that you know, this eight-week process, you know, his question to you was at the end was, you know, are you going to be committed? And that's a fair question because it's like, you know, you don't need to waste your money and you don't need to waste my time and you don't need to waste your time. And that's the same, really kind of the same conversations. I actually start all my interviews now with potential employees with basically like an edict of here's who I am. Here's what I'm going to expect from you.

18:06And this is not a job description. These are the fundamental cultural things that I need. Like, I need you to, if you, I'm only hiring people. I mean, this is in hospitality, right? But this is in general. Like, even if I was, you know, a computer software company, I want to work with people that I think have great energy. You know, and so I, you know, and listen, how is it, how can you make that determination right off the bat?

18:33I mean, I'm a pretty good read, but I also let people know, listen, however you are who you are in this interview today, my expectation is that you come to work every day with an insanely positive mindset and great energy and that you communicate in a very respectful manner. The rest I can teach you. If you're on board with those things, then we're good to go.

18:56And so you have to, again, to me, the commitment to process and a vision and a structure of DNA and a culture, at least in that space from corporate and team is a good way to start. And then people that go off track. I've had a million conversations with people for various things. And you mentioned, you know, health and organization.

19:22Hard conversations that I've had with people and I say, hey, man, you're doing great over here, but you're not living up to your full potential. You know, I'm not a smoker. So, you know, I'm using this as an example. And somebody that I see who's really intaking things that are not good for your body in such magnitudes, whether it's alcohol or smoking or whatever, conversations with them and saying, maybe it's time that you actually reevaluate what you're doing because you are leaving a lot on the table. You're leaving a lot on the table. You're not committed to you. And if you can't be committed to you, it's very difficult for you to be committed to me. And so it's a chain reaction. So, you know, get your head on straight. Take a day off. Take a two day off. And I also give them the out.

20:14The out is like, if you don't want to be here, you don't have to. You know, that's not these aren't we don't live in a society where these were, you know, you have options. Those options revolve around commitment. I love that. That was straight goal there. So, Arturo, let's wrap it up with this is. All right. How do you do it? How do you work on commitment?

20:36So you and I have been able to be committed because we are all in on what it is, the journey that we're going on. But for someone who says, all right, maybe I want to be more committed or I'm working on finding my commitment. Well, one, go and listen to the episode we just recorded about growth mindset. Because when you're talking about the I can teach anyone, boom, go listen to the growth mindset. But what are your thoughts on how someone can do this and find their commitment?

21:07Well, I think it comes again. I think structure, providing structure to individuals will will allow them to to have some understanding or some semblance of that. You know, not not everybody is right out of the gate, you know, leaving the womb as as individuals that are fiercely committed. I think I also think that, you know, surrounding yourself with people that are that are lead by example humans, you know, that that, you know, the people that that do that create change in this world in this universe are people that are insanely committed to to to their to their particular process.

21:46So, I think, as a contribution to training and teaching, I think that those are some of the things that I would say that you have to show, but also create, again, systems and process so that people can understand that there is going to be required a commitment to this team. And we all have small little commitments, you know, and it's it's some are big, some are small, we're committed, you know, to driving safely when we get behind the wheels.

22:13Like, we that's a commitment we make to get a driver's license. We are committed in a relationship with our spouse to be good, loving husbands. That's a commitment and a promise that we make on our wedding day. Right. And so our life is filled with with commitments. We, I think, can live very can live beautiful lives if we actually maintain those.

22:39But as leaders, as leaders, because I think that was, you know, kind of where the origin of the original question is that if you find opportunities to impact someone's life through through a little show and tell and a little bit of, you know, leading by example kind of process. Then I think that you can, but the world would be a much better place if people made that that time investment to actually show people that, hey, if you actually put your mind to this, and you dedicate yourself, that you can do the things that you're looking to do. Amen to that. And for me, I've got a simple little thing in terms of personal commitment. And I'll give a fitness example.

23:22A few years ago, my wife and I created a challenge where we wanted to work out, let's call it 20 times in a month. And what we said is, all right, we're going to have a whiteboard and we're going to X off every single day. And at the end of the month, if and when we work out 20 days this month, we're going to go and buy something from Lululemon. And you're like, well, why in the world did we do this?

23:46Because sometimes when it comes to commitment, it's okay to give yourself a little carrot to help deepen that commitment. Because I know with so many things going on in so many different buckets of our lives, it doesn't mean that we're always 100% committed everywhere at all times. We're going to have an ebb and flow in certain buckets of our lives. So I've learned that sometimes it's okay to practice a little self-love and give myself a carrot that says, hey, Rob, you want to deepen that commitment?

24:14I know you would love a new pair of jogging shorts or something like that. Boom. Go ahead and do that. So now once you get there, you're like, man, I feel so good about my ability to be committed. And you're just giving yourself a reward for making that happen. Yeah. I mean, that's critical. I think that in order to fill the commitment tank, we need a little bit of those things, motivation.

24:39And again, we talked in the previous podcast about how documenting process and journey gives us some of that emotional value. And so I've lived portions of my life where I didn't need money from anybody. I needed a thank you. And if I got a thank you and an appreciation for some hard work, that to me was insanely valued.

25:04And so I think similarly, I think we can find some real opportunities for gratitude in our life by documenting and by, you know, whether it's a pair of, you know, Lululemon shorts or if it's I'm going to take a vacation or I'm going to take a mental vacation. I'm going to put the work away today because I actually deserve it. It's a Sunday. Relax. Spend some time with family. I should probably listen more to that advice.

25:33But, you know, I think those are the things that really keep us charged. Commitment requires a charge. Oh, and you gave me a great idea that I use all the time. You want to be committed? Go ahead and post something on social media telling everyone that you're going to do this. It becomes an external accountability. So I love when someone wants to launch a podcast on day one of work with me. I'm like, cool, go on your social media and tell everybody you're launching a podcast. All of a sudden you put yourself on blast. You're like, well, wait a second.

26:02I can't be someone who says something and not do it. And then you can think at all the different areas of your life and say, well, what if every day until this is done, I just post one picture of my progress. Remember, break things down in simple little ways. It's not that hard. Just focus on the micro. I've got two great books around commitment to share. One Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins. He is someone when it comes to commitment to himself is like a 15 out of 10.

26:30And then the other one is Living with a Seal by Jesse Itzler, who was 100% committed to living with David Goggins, who wrote the book Can't Hurt Me. So my recommendation, if you haven't read both of these, read Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins first and then read Living with a Seal by Jesse Itzler second. You will get a crash course on commitment. They are both highly entertaining, highly inspiring. So, Arturo, time for our action item and takeaway. I'm going to throw this to you.

26:59What's your action item or takeaway from this show? I think it would be a takeaway again in just that change is possible in every way, shape, or form. Commitment can be big or small. We all have current commitments that we may or may not realize. And that, you know, write down your process, write down your journey. And understand that with frequency, with these promises, with consistency, with commitment, that there is nothing that's not possible. And on my end, I believe one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is commitment. Practice self-love because this is an expression of self-love. When you are committed to what it is that you want to do, that's an act of love for yourself.

27:54So if you're thinking about something, give yourself that gift because I promise you, Arturo and I are both living this. It is the best gift you can give yourself of being 100% committed to what it is you want to do. And we want to hear from you. What is a commitment you have made to yourself recently or in the last year? Or take us to your origin story of when you really had a big foundational shift around commitment. We would love to hear about it.

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