In honor of father’s day last weekend, this week’s blog posts have been about career and leadership lessons I learned from my Dad. As I round out this week’s posts, I have a few final lessons, which I combined. My Dad taught me to always finish what I start, be true to my word; or, as I like to translate: Meet Your Commitments.
As a child of Tony Corso, I can honestly say that he never said he’d do something for me or with me that he did not do. He always did exactly what he said he would and that held true in his professional life as well. In fact, there were many times when he could not be somewhere with me because he had committed to being in another country for his job; not that the job was more important but, he had made a commitment to be somewhere else and was honoring that commitment. In the same regard, there were countless times when he would rearrange his travel so he could meet a commitment he had made to me (or my sister). My Dad was always true to his word and lived up to his commitments and taught me the importance of doing the same. This is huge for career and leadership success. You can’t advance your career if you are not meeting your commitments and you cannot be a respected leader if you do not do as you say you will.
In the same regard, my Dad has always been big on not quitting, or finishing what you start. I remember while growing up I was fickle about trying out new ‘activities’: piano lessons, ballet lessons, ice skating, gymnastics. Although I only took these lessons for maybe 1, 2 or 3 years at a time, I was not allowed to quit midseason. It was, again, about keeping commitments. If I had committed to take piano lessons for six months, I had to stick it out for the six months. After that, I could either continue or stop but I had to meet the commitment that I had initially agreed upon.
These lessons have stuck with me and supported me in being successful in my career and my ability to lead others. I do know that meeting commitments is where it all starts. Whether that translates to being true to your word or finishing what you started, if you do not do these things, chances are your career won’t advance very far nor will you be a respected and inspiring leader. So, although I wrote about this in the final of my three postings this week, I think it is the most important thing to having a successful career and being a respected leader. Meet your commitments – it is the foundation. Thank you Dad, for these and so many other lessons I have learned from you and for which I am eternally grateful!
