How good is your word ? (1)

Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. … He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. … He that doeth these things shall never be moved – Psalm 15:1-5

Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint. – Proverbs 25:19

My son, if thou be surety for thy friend,

if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,

thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. – Proverbs 6:1-2

Another round of elections are around the corner. Later this year, two states of the federation, namely Ekiti and Osun States, will be going to the polls to elect new governors. The Independent National Electoral Commission has released the time table for 2019 General elections nationwide. The implication of this is that we are about to enter a season of promises to the electorate. Most of these promises are forgotten as soon as they are made even by those who made them. But these promises are made to sway the minds of the electorate and make them vote in a certain direction. Unfortunately, the electorate in Nigeria has become used to these empty promises that are broken almost as soon as those who made them get into office. The electorate is usually left holding the short end of the stick in anticipation of the next cycle of elections. This harvest of broken promises is the main reason for the thriving of money politics where the electorate prefers to get whatever it can in kind from the contestants, knowing fully well that after elections are over, they are not likely to have access to the winners until the next cycle of electioneering. For the same reason, integrity in the polity is as commonplace as a virgin in a maternity ward!

Several years ago, I served as the Executive Secretary of a trade association. The CEO of a member-organization was notorious for his outlandish promises which were hardly, if ever fulfilled. Intelligent man. Very vocal, perhaps the most vociferous when it came to matters of joint interest to the association. Beyond talking, he would churn out position papers on the matter at hand at short notice. Then he would follow up with commitments on what he would do or how much his company would contribute to ameliorate the situation. Hearing him speak and make promises, you would think that the problem was as good as solved. But then, getting him to deliver on those promises was as easy as getting an elephant pregnant in a sports car! He would first make himself incommunicado. Then would begin the chasing game. Very often, the best thing we could do was just give up and seek alternative solutions. After a while, nobody took him serious whenever he started to reel out promises at meetings!

If you lead people, integrity is a key factor in building the bridge of trust. Unfortunately, when that bridge is broken, it takes a long, usually tortuous process to rebuild.

Integrity is built on the blocks of trust and kept promises. If you plan to be truly great as a leader, your word must be your bond. Once a promise comes out of a leader’s mouth, it carries the power of a deed. In time, kept promises become the creed of the people or organization that he leads. Even if you made a promise under pressure, as much as lies within your power, keep it. A kept promise is the fulcrum of social capital. So, even if it sometimes hurts, fulfil it. The social mileage that a kept promise earns you will more than compensate for the inconvenience of keeping it. The Bible calls it swearing to your own hurt.

I once heard someone say that to a good leader, promises are like a baby crying in a cinema theatre. They need to be carried out immediately!

Never be too eager to make promises. Nobody can quote what you did not say and nobody can lay claim to a promise you never made. It is better to be quiet and do something about an issue than to make a promise and do nothing about it. When you make a promise, you raise the expectations of those you are making it to. Sometimes, they make their plans by your promise. If you live a life governed by schedules, you will appreciate the inimical value of an unkept promise.

A leader earns integrity not only by the big promises that he keeps. You can be selective in promise-making but you cannot be selective in promise-keeping. Anyone can keep the big promises but it takes integrity to keep the small, innocuous ones. Do you remember how many times people called you but you could not speak with them but promised to call them back but never did? How many people have you told to send you an e-mail and that you would rely their mail as soon as you got it but never did? What of the people you promised to take up their matter with someone but never did? Or the people you promised a gift or gesture at a certain time but which you never carried out? Donations you pledged but never made? People you have promised to visit for the past five years but have never ventured to? I have heard people say that they made particular promises just to get people off their back. Really? They may leave your presence but your promise never leaves their minds. They will recall it and possibly plan in line with it only to be disappointed when they discover that you never had the intention of keeping your word or were powerless over the matter ab initio. If you are not in a position to do something, when anyone asks you for a favour in that regard, be honest enough to let them know that such a favour is not within your power. They may not believe you initially but when they do find out the truth, their respect for you will go a notch higher.

When you give your word, do what you said you would do when and in the manner you said you would. It is better to underpromise and overdeliver than to overpromise and underdeliver.

In the concluding part of this series next week, I will be identifying five conditions under which a leader should not make promises.

Until then, remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!