Author of
The Gauntlet
Achieving strategic goals requires a team commitment. Commitment is more than consensus.
Pursuing consensus, or shared agreement, can be alluring because it’s more expedient than the hard work of securing commitment on a goal or critical business issue. It avoids confrontation to preserveharmony, enabling team members to surrender to the majority opinion rather than exposing themselves to the risk of expressing their views. Without the whole team engaging in the healthy, essential discussions about conflicting ideas that are necessary to secure commitment, the team risks the later sharing of unstated opposing opinions that can produce ill-will, breed division, slow decision-making and undermine goal achievement.
Fostering a culture of dialogue in which all teammates are encouraged to share their opinions,suggestions and concerns is a necessary first step towards commitment and shared accountability. The objective of these discussions is to discover and assess differing perspectives that allow the team to choose the best way forward and commit to it.
Commitment is a promise by the team to act together to achieve its shared goal. The exchange of differing opinions that produces commitment is intended to improve clarity about direction and common objectives by soliciting the collective knowledge and expertise of the team. It prioritizes actions required to achieve the goal, how these will be accomplished, when and by whom. This enables buy-in, while also nurturing the confidence to act, or if necessary, to adapt and refine a position without hesitation or guilt. Second-guessing is discouraged, decision-making is accelerated, shared accountability is strengthened and goals are achieved.
Leaders understand that uncertainty underlies most decisions. Team commitment enables leaders and their teams to productively manage this uncertainty while acting to achieve goals.
How do you secure commitment from your team?
