Commitment v Compliance
Here I talk about commitment and compliance and how the outcome of compassionate leadership is to gain commitment. But I am really conscious that Compliance, with a capital C, is an absolutely vital part of many organisations’ services and products; we really do want everyone to be committed to the Compliance Regulations & Processes that safeguard us all. The compliance I allude to is an emotional compliance, a reluctance, a “this doesn’t motivate me” kind of compliance. So let’s commit to “ Compliance", but strive to move away from “compliance”!
I believe that it is all about gaining commitment. It has to be. Who wants to work with a compliant team, a reluctant team? Who wants to work with the mindset of compliance when we have the opportunity to create the excitement of commitment? The principles of compassionate leadership are those that create long-term commitment and completely remove the emotional drag of compliance.
How do you feel when you “have” to do something and you don’t really want to? Annoyed? Frustrated? Lethargic? De-motivated? You cannot quite muster the energy to give it your best shot. Your body language gives it away. You sigh, it seems like hard work, time drags, but “Hey ho, best get it done”. That’s not the way to work. That’s not the way to live. Life is more precious than that.
Now, remember how you feel when you are committed to something? Something you really want to do. Excited? Enthused? Motivated? Your body language? You sit up straight, the energy flows and the time flies. And the quality of your actions? The best they can be. There is a deep found pride in your work when you are committed. That’s what life’s about.
Why? Because commitment is something deep. An emotional attachment to the task, the person, the organisation through an alignment of our inner self-worth. You cannot intellectualise commitment. Commitment can happen without the conscious brain telling us so. It stems from our own core values, deep within us. Commitment lasts, it is the birth place of resilience and productivity and provides a well of deep contentment.
If we are going to be hard-nosed about the outcome of leadership and management and focus on the bottom-line, the return to the investors, our EBITDA then I will argue that chasing the dollar does not give you the dollar. If all you are doing is focusing on cutting cost whilst at the same time trying to increase revenue - two tasks, by the way, that are rarely mutually supportive - then you had got it wrong. Yes we must control costs. Yes we must look at growing our businesses to provide opportunities as well as security, but that cannot be the focus or else we are on a spiral of decline.
Growth is not a strategy, it is an outcome. An outcome from aligning the efforts of a committed workforce. So let’s not focus on the outcome but on the journey./
Focus on creating commitment within your workforce.
Focus on creating the culture and purpose that is at the heart of commitment.
The outcome of compassionate leadership is commitment, so, let us focus on creating commitment through compassionate leadership and let the dollars come to you!
Sign up now to become a compassionate leader at www.cla-global.com and deliver through the power of commitment
