The More Consuming Your Commitment, The More You Draw People Toward You

People always look at the leader when they want to take the pulse of an organization. Example says a lot. Do they see a boss they can believe in? Can they have faith in whom they follow? Does the fire inside the leader burn hot enough for them to warm from the heat of that flame?

Commitment climbs when people see passion in the person in charge. They catch the feeling. Commitment, after all, is a highly contagious thing. It’s a spirit that stirs others, that touches their souls, that inspires them to action. It carries a mental magnetism that captures the attention and enlists the energies of all who watch.

The more consuming your commitment, the more you draw your people toward you. And toward the task to be done. Your intensity—your focus, drive, and dedication—carries maximum influence over the level of commitment you can expect from others.

Like it or not, you set the climate. People always take a reading on the person in charge. So when it comes to building commitment, you must lead by example, just as commanders must show courage if they want soldiers to show bravery on the battlefield.

If you provide lukewarm leadership, you’ll see the passion cool among your people. Commitment can’t survive when the leader doesn’t seem to care. So be obvious. Turn up the burner inside yourself. Let the heat of your commitment be strong enough to glow in the dark.

The first chore in managing change is the toughest: Self-management. Handle that right, and you’re halfway home.

Examine your own attitude. Evaluate your personal investment in pushing for change.

Sometimes the best management tool is a mirror.