​​​​​​​​​​​LEADING WITH CHARACTER!
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​“Dependability is more important than ability. Dependability is a talent, and it is a talent all can have. It makes no difference how much ability one possesses if we are not responsible and dependable.”

Floyd L. Bennett

Listen to Story 1.​

Introduction

Amidst the stress and chaos of combat, there often is no telling how people will react. A hero one day may be a catatonic wreck the next. Some would say that’s perfectly understandable. Marines say it is totally unacceptable. Marines demand dependability in all situations – on and off the battlefield. Leaders have consistency in crises and do not over commit. They do what they say they’ll do when they say they’ll do it.

Being a dependable person not only means doing what we say, it also means doing what is right, regardless of how committed we are. Many tasks in life are inherent in the role we play (a boss, parent, friend, sibling, mentor), and the dependable person does not have to be told what to do. For example, if we have a job, we show up at work on time. If a child is struggling, we give our support. If a team member looks overwhelmed, we help him or her regardless of how inconvenient it may be for us. 

We want to collect dependable people in our lives, and we do not want to deal with those who are not dependable. Dependable people get and keep friends more easily, forge deeper relationships, are granted more autonomy at work, have more self-confidence, and live with integrity. Those are the kinds of people we want on our team and the kinds of people we should strive to be. 

Dependability

Dependability – having the ability to be relied upon to perform duties properly and complete a job on time, always putting in our best effort to achieve the highest standards of performance. 

WHAT are the elements of dependability? As we are certainly aware by now, the U.S. Marine Corps has an affinity for acronyms as memory aids; consequently, so does One Marine and, the older he gets, the stronger that affinity grows. That leads to WHAT as our acronym to remember the elements of dependability: 1. Willingness, 2. Habituation, 3. Application, and 4. Timeliness. 

Willingness means voluntary support of the philosophy of the organization of which we are a part. It means that we take responsibility for our actions in pursuing the organization’s mission, and we discharge our obligations with a cheerful attitude, without complaints or excuses. 

Willingness does not mean taking on more obligations than we can dependably handle. Willingness does not mean saying yes to everyone. On the contrary, dependable people use discretion when they make commitments. However, many people tend to slip on their commitments because they overestimate their available free time and want to please others. The result is that many, if not most, of the commitments are not met with a high degree of professionalism. 

So, before becoming willing to take on a commitment, we should think about it. Particularly if we feel pressure to please the other party, we should take time to think about the commitment and check our schedule. Reluctant or forced commitments are always lose-lose for the individual and the team in the long-term.

We should know when to say no. We might be appeasing the other party by saying yes, but we will ultimately disappoint them (and ourselves) by overcommitting and then not delivering. (But, if we can’t get out of it, we should get into it.) 

“It doesn’t matter how much you want. What really matters is how much you want it. The extent and complexity of the problem does not matter as much as does the willingness to solve it.”

Ralph Marston 

Habituation means we enhance our contribution to the organization by turning our proper actions into habits, so the daily actions we take to support the mission of our team are ingrained to the point where they become second nature to us. 

We probably recall, from our earlier discussion of character, that well-known adage: sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reach a purpose/destiny. So, our ability to reach our destinies starts with the dominant thoughts that occupy our minds. Habituation is just one of the important steps on the roads we travel and a necessary precursor to character, of which dependability is an essential part. 

Our lives today are the sum of our habits. How in shape or out of shape we are – a result of our habits. How happy or unhappy we are – a result of our habits. How successful or unsuccessful we are – a result of our habits. What we repeatedly do (i.e. what we spend time thinking about and doing each day) ultimately forms the people we are, the things we believe, and the personalities we portray. 

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation; we do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have these because we have acted rightly; we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit; the good of man is a working of the soul in the way of excellence in a complete life … for as it is not one swallow or one day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy.”

Will Durant

Application means the useful employment of those actions which are worthy of habituation. It means that we carry out all our responsibilities with a keen sense of duty and the highest personal standards. We do not accept failure. We find ways around obstacles, taking initiative on our own when appropriate. 

Application can be likened to work ethic – the belief that work has a moral quality and an inherent ability to strengthen character. The state of our work ethic determines how we relate to occupational responsibilities such as goal setting, accountability, task completion, autonomy, dependability, cooperation, communication, honesty, effort, timeliness, determination, and leadership. 

We should strive to excel daily in all our activities that support our team’s mission. We should implement daily disciplines to sharpen our focus and strive for everyday excellence. Excellence does not equal perfection (which can be a barrier to dependability). It is doing the very best we can at that moment and always looking for ways to improve the next time. A task worth doing is worth doing well, regardless of how rewarding and important or menial and mindless. 

The person who takes pride in his or her work, whatever it is, moves ahead; he or she who cannot be trusted with little things will not be trusted with big things. The dependable person chooses to focus on what he or she can control and to excel regardless of circumstances. 

“No amount of reading or memorizing will make you successful in life. It is the understanding and application of wise thought that counts.”

Bob Proctor

Timeliness means that we are on time for all our endeavors; it means that we show up on time, start on time, adhere to a time schedule, and finish on time – and we do this all the time. 

We should respect time, ours and others’. Being on time seems like it should go without saying. If we tell someone we can meet at a certain time, we have made a promise. Being on time shows others that we are people of our words. When late, we are really saying, “My time is more valuable than your time.” Dependable people respect deadlines and make every effort to meet them. 

We should focus on timelines (when work gets done) versus deadlines (when work is due). Since people tend to think a task will take less time than it eventually will take, we should increase our estimates to ensure our task completion time will fit within the time required for our other commitments. It is better to under-promise and over-deliver. 

“The challenge is to learn to respond immediately to whatever it is time for. Not to wonder whether you have time for it or whether you like it, but simply to respond when it is time.”

David Steindl-Rast 

Conclusion

Ability is important but dependability is crucial. If we have someone with all the ability in the world, but he or she is not dependable, do we want him or her as part of our team? One Marine says, “No, not at all.” 

Start and Finish – Initiative and closure are the bookends of dependability and success. The best way to finish strong is to start strong. Keeping our word or simply doing the right thing is rarely convenient, so dependable people let their actions rise above their excuses. 

We should choose wisely those we want on our team. We should strive to ensure that they offer the energy, truth, and positive perspective we need to orchestrate our team’s actions and accomplish out team’s mission.

Listen to Story 2.

“A person who inspires confidence is one who carries a fine attitude. A wholesome attitude radiates trust, and trust is that quality of life that is fundamental in dependability, and dependability is more to be desired than a brilliant mind.”

​Joseph Quinney, Jr.

 

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Dependability

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