Leading is commitment management. Higher level leadership functions like visioning, goal clarification and strategizing are important, but the key differentiating factor for effective leaders is their skill in commitment management. It is intangible, yet so palpable. Leaders succeeds to the degree that they are able to manage their own commitment, and the commitment of their followers.
Commitment is different from motivation. Motivation is desire. Commitment is decision. Therein lies the power of commitment. Commitment has the quality of being unequivocal (yes / no, will / won't), whereas intention is 'may be ... if...'
Compliance can be obtained by force. Commitment is obtained only from freedom of choice. It is voluntary and flows from the heart. It cannot be obtained by pep talks, or most of those managerial techniques for motivating. In fact, quite a lot of modern management practices hinder the free flow of human spirit, and kill commitment rather than nurture it.
My quest as a manager is to learn the art of managing commitment. (May be 'managing' is an inappropriate word in this context.) If I can get a handle on this, I know there are no limits to what is possible.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment