If commitment means being focused on, dedicated and loyal to something, then team commitment would be the extent to which our behavior shows dedication and loyalty to our team. If you’ve been following the past couple of weeks we have been looking at Patrick Lencioni’s “The Five Behaviors” model, and this week we consider commitment.
What is the atmosphere in your team? Can you agree that in your team, members believe in each other’s ability to achieve team goals and are willing to work together in an atmosphere of open communication and feedback? Are members willing to move forward together even when the outcome is uncertain? Can you agree that your team members are committed to making and supporting shared decisions for the benefit of the business? The realistic stance is perhaps that commitment might ebb and flow depending on variables encountered by the team, which variables should be addressed by the other factors in the Five Behaviours model, for instance trust in each other’s ability to deliver and capacity to work through conflict.
Ironically, commitment does not mean unanimous agreement with a direction or a decision. As long as there has been adequate ventilation of opinions, ideas, objections, then the team will be willing to support a team decision even if individual members are not in full agreement. According to Patrick Lencioni, for team members to commit, they need both clarity and buy-in.
As a business owner, CEO or leadership team you must be clear on your desired outcome. It does not matter if the desired outcome is the five-year vision for the company or a new supplies ordering process, you must be clear on what you want and why. And you must clearly communicate the desired outcome. People are only able to truly commit and understand decisions when they know what is expected of them and why it is important.
Commitment Requires Buy-in.
Buy-in is only achieved when every participant feels like they are part of the decision.
It is as if they fear that by allowing team members to ask questions, express concerns and give input, they will lose control of the situation.
If, after sharing their perspectives, staff are still reluctant to get on board, try asking this question: “What would it take for you to buy into and support this decision?” And then really listen.
Without buy-in, there can be no commitment.
If you want to improve Commitment on your team, I can help.
How does team commitment work?
Support constructive feedback
Set clear goals and timelines
Benefits of team commitment Teams that are committed are more efficient and effective, Projects are more successful, Employee satisfaction and engagement is higher, and Organizational goals are achieved.
Other behaviors of a cohesive team: Accountability, Results, and Con
