If you haven’t learned how trust and conflict are essential for a high performing team, read those first.
Looking at the image above, are you like the chicken, who was involved in providing breakfast? Or, were you like the pig, committed to serving you breakfast?
Indecision leads to death
Indecision leads to fear, fear leads to panic, and panic leads to death. Constructing commitment is all about making a decision and confidently moving forward knowing any decision is better than no decision. You will avoid death.
This saying is based on real life. There was a woman in upstate New York years ago who pulled too close to the railroad tracks. The lights started flashing, the bells started to ring, and the crossing bars on every side came down. She was alone in her vehicle. The man in the car behind her pulled back a little and was signaling for her to pull back also. She got out of her car and saw the crossing arm down behind her car and the tracks adjacent to the car. The man behind her began screaming for her to pull back and get out of there, but the woman got back into her car and inexplicably hit the accelerator, going forward. She was crushed by the train causing her death and terrible destruction for many. Her indecision and fear of what to do, lead to her panic at which time she then pulled forward to her death.
Death or the end of organizations
This same scenario happens to so many of us, our teams, and our companies. We wait to make decisions. We live in indecision because we might hurt someone’s feelings, it might not be just quite right, it is not the perfect answer, and the list can go on for reasons in not making a decision. Then fear sets in for ourselves, our teams, and our companies. We now see losses – financial, team members, opportunities, and so much more. The fear grows until we then panic and in our panic, we close a division, cut staff, sell when we should buy, and so much more. Now we find ourselves having to close the doors. It is over. The company is dead.
Constructing true commitment
Healthy teams and team building must have true commitment. We need to construct commitment with our teams and for the sake of our workplaces.
True commitment means the following:
- Clarity about directions and priorities
- We support each other in decisions and walk together as a team in those decisions
- All team discussions end with clear, specific resolutions, and calls to action
- We leave team meetings confident we are all on the same page and fully committed to the decisions made
- The team follows through on the decisions made
Strengthen with team building
Constructing commitment for team building and the success of our companies is vital. Therefore, do what must be done to construct commitment. This can include professional coaching to strengthen the individuals and the team, using CliftonStrengths assessment to know yourselves and your teams better, and doing other team building exercises to strengthen the whole team.
Ultimately, through constructing true commitment on your team, success will increase and you will avoid the ultimate consequence – the death of a team, division, and overall company. Commit today to your team and construct true commitment for the success of all.
Ready to reflect and act?
How would you rate the health of your team on the topic of conflict?
What can you do now to improve commitment on your team(s)?
Find your professional coaching partner
Take the next step to build the foundation of trust, positive conflict, and true commitment to lead to high-performing teams. Not sure where to start or how to build the 5 essentials of a team? Partner-up with us for higher productivity and employee engagement.
Stay tuned for part 4 of our series addressing the 5 essentials of a team to learn how true commitment leads to accountability, which we teach different than anyone else.