Practice: Framing Honest Commitments

Practice constructing commitments that are clear about conditions and uncertainty.

Instructions

For each scenario, draft language that makes an honest commitment—one that is both responsive to the stakeholder's need and truthful about what you know.

SCENARIO 1: Your VP asks: "Can you guarantee the Q3 launch?" You believe Q3 is achievable but not certain. How do you respond?

SCENARIO 2: A peer team lead asks: "Will your team have the integration ready by the 15th?" You know it's dependent on an API that's been delayed before. How do you respond?

SCENARIO 3: A customer asks: "Will this feature be in the next release?" You think so, but product priorities could shift. How do you respond?

SCENARIO 4: Your team asks: "Can we take Friday off if we finish early?" You want to say yes but know scope often expands. How do you respond?

Now look at your answers. Did you: - Name your conditions explicitly? - Identify what you don't control? - Offer a communication commitment even if you couldn't offer an outcome commitment? - Leave room to adjust without losing trust?