Why Don’t They Get It!? Part 2: Sustaining Commitment

Leadership Coaching Notes February 2007

Why Don’t They Get It!? Part 2: Sustaining Commitment

Last month’s Why Don’t They Get It! Part I gave you tools for capturing others’ interest and commitment. This issue offers three more ways to sustain commitment, follow through, and results on your teams.
Read on to discover which of these ideas can support your success and strengthen you as a coach to your emerging leaders.

Leadership Challenges

• Why do team members lose focus and deliver half- baked results?
• Why don’t people listen to guidance and feedback?

Case in Point

Like a good sports coach, Michael encouraged team members to sustain their initiative and deliver quality work on time, every time. But, despite his efforts, his team’s performance was unpredictable and he found himself taking on more of the job than he knew he should. Occasionally, he got so tired and frustrated, he lost his temper. He felt like wringing a few necks. Instead, he asked me what else he could do.

What Worked

4:1 Positives Michael thought he recognized the good work of his team, but admitted he was a perfectionist who noticed problems more often than successes.

Michael learned that in relationships people describe as “healthy,” they exchange 4 times more positive acknowledgements than corrections or criticisms. He began increasing the frequency of his positive feedback. He appreciated and celebrated with others whenever they hit milestones, took initiative, or tackled a tough challenge, even if it wasn’t done perfectly. Gradually, team members began showing sustained focus, surfacing concerns more openly, proposing more ideas, and doing what it took to deliver their commitments.

What you can do: Start counting. Put 5 paperclips in each pocket each morning. Take one out of your right pocket each time you acknowledge something positive. Take one from your left each time you criticize or judge someone harshly. Which pocket empties first? What opportunities for appreciation do you miss?

Name the Beneficial Impact: Michael learned that there is “empty calorie” feedback and “high nutrition” feedback. “At-a-boy, good job,” is junk food feedback. Michael learned to give high-powered feedback by naming what others did PLUS the Beneficial Impact of their efforts.
“Great initiative.” (Valued Behavior) “You saved our team hours of work by addressing this issue quickly.” (Beneficial Impact) “You addressed all the critical factors in this analysis (Valued Behavior) and raised our client’s confidence in our team and in you.” (Beneficial Impact)

What you can do: Add the Beneficial Impact to your guidance, requests and positive and corrective feedback. When you do, you “sell” your ideas by naming what matters to you and others. Showing people how their efforts contribute to something they care about builds their pride. It is like striking oil that erupts in new enthusiasm.

Check Your Intention: Michael was embarrassed to realize that his impatience and criticism interfered with the success he was trying to create. He realized his outbursts were cheap catharsis. They only served the empty purpose of making him feel “right” and briefly taking him off the hook for the shortfalls of his team.
Michael deeply wanted to build the success of others. So, he learned to push the “pause button” and suspend his judgments to better serve others’ success. He accepted their current performance as the starting place for their growth and development, not as a terminal sign of inferiority, stupidity or laziness.

What you can do: When you give feedback, check your mood and the inflection of your voice. They convey your intention more than your words. How condescending, insulting, or impatient do you sound? Choose your approach based on your true intention. What does catharsis do for you? By contrast, how consistently and effectively do you provide constructive guidance for improving (including naming the Beneficial Impact)? If you aren’t sure, ask some of your team for their feedback. Remember that their “perception is reality.”

Coaching Impact

Over time, Michael’s new practices inspired his team. He found leading them less stressful and they found him more enjoyable, more trustworthy, and a leader they wanted to follow. During the year following his coaching program, Michael’s team earned a company award for their performance on a major client project.

Whats Next

If you or someone you know is struggling to create sustained commitment and follow through, please call me for a free consultation to explore how a coaching program might help build new success. I am never too busy for your referrals.

Use and share these practices. If you or leaders you coach are experiencing challenges similar to Michael’s and want to discuss how to achieve similar results, call me. I am never too busy for your referrals.

I offer a free consultation to explore your goals and how a coaching program can help. I’ve worked with hundreds of leaders to improve their careers, lives, and legacies. I welcome your inquires and look forward to the opportunity to assist you.

All the best,

Meredith Kimbell
Executive Advisor,Strategy Consultant
Corporate Adventure

Leadership Coaching Notes uses real or composite client examples drawn from 25 years of coaching and consulting with leaders committed to solving their toughest personal, interpersonal and organizational issues.
Unless otherwise attributed, all material is copyrighted by Meredith Kimbell © 2011. All rights reserved. You may reprint any or all of this material if you include the following:
“Leadership Coaching Notes © 2011 Meredith Kimbell, Corporate Adventure, Reston, VA. Used with permission.”