Mobilising Commitment

For people to be committed to excellent performance, they need three things:

• the Motive to excel
• the Means to excel; and
• the Opportunity to excel

If any one of these three is missing, there cannot be commitment, in the sense described here. There may be good intentions, without the means or opportunity to deliver against them; there may be the ability to deliver, without the opportunity or desire to do so; and there may be a 'golden opportunity' to make a real difference, which remains unfulfilled through lack of motivation or ability. In none of these cases, though, can there be a commitment to excellence.

Fostering an Enabling Culture and Climate

This requires leaders, throughout an organisation, to encourage, assist and enable the emergence of conditions in which staff are self-driven to succeed because, under those conditions:

• they want to excel at what they do
• they have the necessary ability and confidence to do so; and
• they have been given the chance to perform to the best of their ability, without unnecessary barriers or constraints being placed in their way

Commitment to excellence is self-driven; we do not believe that it can be obtained through using a 'stick' or even a 'carrot' -carrots that can be withheld by management are simply cleverly disguised sticks! Leaders can, though, create conditions in which these motives can be mobilised more effectively and applied for business benefit. If you would like to discuss how you might address these issues further in your own organisation, please get in touch.