As a leader – do you want to focus on cultivating the commitment of your team members or do you want a team that follows your orders and directions and who revere authority?
Commitment -> comes from personal influence, when leaders are more intentional and do the right things to build commitment; yields loyalty, engagement, resilience
Compliance -> comes from positional power, which is when we hold and use power over employees; yields short-term obedience
In my own experiences, I’ve witnessed the consequences of a compliance-driven culture firsthand. One example was the expectation for us to await dismissal during inclement weather (mainly snow). This is one of the biggest signs of a lack of trust and autonomy within an organization. These types of environments erode morale and perpetuate a cycle of dependence rather than empowerment.
Leaders-in-action: how to gain commitment
To transition from compliance to commitment, leaders must prioritize personal influence over positional power. What does this entail? Getting to know people on a personal basis, empowering your team to make decisions… and mistakes, focusing on developing your team instead of directing them, and working to build a culture of independent capability and accountability.
I’ll leave you with this decision to make: do you want to be the leader who commands obedience or do you want to be the leader who inspires dedication? For all of the compliance-focused leaders and organizations I encountered, I also had the privilege of working under a few commitment-focused leaders; those are the leaders I wanted to work for – even if the subject matter didn’t necessarily appeal to me.
Curious if you’re succeeding as a leader or falling short?
In today’s fast-paced, rapidly evolving business landscape, effective leadership development is non-negotiable. Some things demand a subject matter expert; leadership development is one of them. That’s where Amber comes in. As a seasoned expert in leadership development, she specializes in guiding people and organizations through the challenges of change and equipping leaders with the skills they need to thrive in an ever-changing environment.
