Employee commitment is one of the managerial “hot topics”. The reason for this is that it has become glaringly apparent to managerial teams world-wide that effective teams are ones that are populated by committed individuals.
One of the key leadership challenges then is learning how to unlock the willingness and commitment of employees. There are a number of behaviour things one needs to get right in order to unlock commitment. One of them is to be deliberate about creating clarity regarding goals and standards. It is essential for a committed employee that they are absolutely clear on what they need to be achieving and how to go about achieving it. Without this employees tend towards apathy as there is a felt lack of direction.
In this coaching corner article we are going to address the issue of creating clarity with the help of an idealized dialogue:
Sam: I am feeling SO frustrated! My team seems to be running around like headless chickens, terribly busy, and yet they are just not achieving what I want them to. Can you help me here, Coach? I get the impression that they are not always fully committed, because they seem to be wasting time focusing on the wrong things.
Coach: Well, if that’s the case, how clear are they about what you expect from them?
Sam: I’m sure they know by now! They certainly should! They’ve got KPIs! They’ve got job descriptions!
Mary: That sounds like rather a big assumption, Sam! My team also have KPIs but they don’t always relate absolutely to everything we need to be focusing on. And as for job descriptions, they are far too general to spell out specific goals and standards! If you asked your people exactly how they should be contributing to your section, or even the bigger organisational strategy, do you really think they’d be able to tell you?
Coach: Mary has a good point. When was the last time you discussed in detail what each person needs to be contributing to your team, how your team is contributing to the bigger picture and how they are doing in terms of this? How well do they understand the goals and standards they need to be working towards and the reasons for them?
Sam: When you put it like that…mmm…I’m not sure…
Coach: You may recall Alice in Wonderland’s conversation with the white rabbit…he said that if you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there. If your people are uncertain about exactly what their goals and standards are, and if you don’t redirect them clearly when they take the wrong path, is it any wonder they are lacking appropriate focus and wasting time?
Sam: But how am I going to find the time for that?
Mary: I check in with people in my team meetings and in our one-on-one meetings.
Coach: Absolutely! Well done, Mary! And don’t forget you can also use any coaching opportunities to clarify expectations and progress towards them, whether formal or ad hoc, to ensure that people are indeed committed to focusing attention and effort specifically where it needs to be. Often, defining expectations becomes an ongoing process, especially in rapidly changing circumstances, and as the leader, you need to commit to making the time available to personally explain and reinforce the direction people need to be taking. Once your team members know explicitly what to do and why to do it, and that their efforts are appreciated, you’ll see their commitment soar.
To explore more issues around coaching or leadership, you might want to visit our “Coaching On the Go” application or our website for additional information.