One Volunteer is worth ten forced men.

A great African proverb that says it all, if your team is not committed it can take a lot of work and “noise” and usually will not achieve the desired outcome.

Having true commitment in a work context is like having a lamp turned on to full capacity, no dimming or power saving here. If individuals in your team are only complying then the lamp needs to be plugged in and turned on regularly and will never shine as brightly.

Compliant behaviour is an action or act and usually has a short-term result that is demanded. Commitment is earned, not controlled and is inspired, it comes from within.

I believe Commitment comes from four areas:

Purpose:

Each individual needs to understand his or her purpose, the purpose of others and the purpose of the organisation. What have you done as a leader to share the organisations purpose and coach individuals in your team to understand their purpose and that of others?

Belief:

  • What can you do to instil and build belief in each team member of what they need to do and why they are doing it?
  • Do they have self-belief and belief in you as a leader?
  • Do their values match what they need to believe in?
  • What is important to them?

Motivation:

We have internal and external motivations at work. Our internal motivations are what drive us. What motivates individuals in your team? Do you simply manage these motivations or do you really identify these motivations and satisfy them by building a strength based team? Motivational Mapping can assist with this, with the utilisation of the iWAM profiling tool.

Planned Effort:

Commitment can occur with each individual being aware of what they need to achieve and having internal motivation and self-belief they can do this. Knowing is one thing and action is what is now needed to make things happen. What planned effort is each individual accountable for? How as a leader are you driving this?

Look out for what not being said such as non-verbal queues as this can really demonstrate how committed someone is. If someone says “Sure I’ll get that done” with little eye contact, slumped shoulders and no enthusiasm I would delve into this person’s level of commitment. Take the time to focus and build a highly committed team and achieve organisational team outputs within a happy, productive culture. Success!

Renee Giarrusso

Renée Giarrusso, Lead Coach, Trainer and Founder of Metamorphose Consulting, works with high performing Executives and teams across a myriad of industries and organisations.

Her expertise in growing and developing capability and behavioural change around leadership, communication, transition and sales effectiveness leaves her clients inspired, re-energised and with improved results.

Contact us for a chat and see how we can collaborate with you for even more success!