The Value of Our Word

As Mike Tomlin guided his teenaged son through his college football recruitment, he gave him a firm order.

“If you make a commitment to a university, your recruitment process is over,” he told him. “That’s where we’re going.”

Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers coach, wanted his son to learn that his word actually meant something and that he couldn’t just loosely throw around pledges and renege on them.

These days, though, it seems that vows and commitments are being viewed far more as vague agreements and loose indications of intentions rather than as etched-in-stone guarantees.

Players select schools, then look elsewhere when they get a more enticing offer. Coaches agree to multi-year contracts, then immediately leave for greener pastures. Executives promise results, changes and that metrics will be hit — all to see target dates pass with nothing to show.

As leaders, we have to realize that it’s easy to become prisoner of the moment and say something that sounds good when we feel have some wind behind our sails.

But our players, our employees and our team members are counting on us to be credible and paint a realistic picture of what’s ahead, not just utter something that gives us short-term popularity.

We need to realize, and instill in them, that the constant shuffling, “pivoting” and looking for better options affects people’s plans and ultimately their lives — and we have a moral and ethical duty to not oversell and underdeliver.

“Your word means something,” Tomlin said.

What are some elements to consider?

•Gather all of the facts and data before making a pledge
•Whether we’ll feel this way in a week or if we’re just acting on impulse
•Allow a “cooling-off period” of 24 hours before making a critical decision
•Remember that our vows aren’t just about ourselves. They ultimately impact other people.

Obviously, there will still be some instances where external circumstances — weather, injury, death in the family — arise that force us to adjust on the fly.

But the point is that when we promise the world to our players, our students, our employees, we shouldn’t then lead them to another galaxy.