There are many ways one can commit. In business there are specific commitments that owners make with regards to time, money, energy, emotions, creativity and values that they must invest to make their business success. How do you spread the sense of commitment throughout an organization when you as an owner are the only one ‘actually’ on the hook?
Building a culture of committed and engaged employees is vital to any organization but even more important in today’s marketplace. Hiring has never been more challenging and retaining employees feels like sand slipping through your fingers. So what can you do as as a business owner to create a culture that is focused on commitment?
Establish a team environment where all members have input and contribute. Foster teamwork with project based work and which requires collaboration. Shift team leads or project leads to ensure that every member of the team feels like a value part of the whole.
Ensure you team members understand what you expect from them. Set clear and defined roles and responsibilities and don’t forget the to set metrics to measure results. Make sure your team understands how their commitment to what and how they do their work is equally important and how they reap rewards as the organization thrives.
Make sure that your organization is transparent in all areas and keep your team informed about major decisions as soon as you can. Whenever possible make them a part of the decision making process and allow them to provide relevant input.
Keep communication open, candid and honest. Have hard conversations and address concerns head on. Eliminating conflict is not the goal. It is about instilling a commitment to work through issues before they spiral out of control.
Your organization should have a strong focus and commitment to ethics and ethical behavior. Reinforce the tenets of the values you define as foundational to your organization and ensure team members relate and understand the mission and vision of company.
Build trust by sharing success and acknowledging the learning from failures. Don’t sweep mistakes under the rug, instead use them as learning and education to improve processes and systems to make your company more effective.
Celebrate and encourage innovation and creative thinking and problem solving. Give your team members a voice and opportunities to stretch their skills and gain experience. Keep them growing personally and professionally so they know the organization cares about them beyond the role or position they hold in the company.
Finally, have fun and create times to kick up your heels and celebrate success. All work and no play makes your company a boring place to be for 8 hours a day. Instead give your team members reasons to arrive early and stay late and give their 100% commitment to the growth of the overall organization.
“Commitment to work or work commitment is defined as the level of enthusiasm an employee has towards his/her tasks assigned at a workplace. It is the feeling of responsibility that a person has towards the goals, mission, and vision of the organization he/she is associated with” (questionpro.com).
Most of the time a mission, vision statement and core values are put on a poster and on some company literature and never really help transform and guide the organization. They get dusted off at some company events, but the words, thoughts and phrases don’t permeate the layers of the organization, so they fail to drive and lead the mindsets of those within the organization.
Without clarity and the absorption of the mission, vision, and core values they are just empty words on paper. They need to be alive within everyone in the business. From the front-line workers to the highest levels of management, the core values serve as a level of accountability to ensure that all employees stay true to the mission and vision.
The commitment to real change and to achieve real success is important to make transformation changes for the long-term. To understand commitment lets reflect on the official definition provided by Merriam Webster Dictionary, commitment means; a: an agreement or pledge to do something in the future b: something pledged c: the state or an instance of being obligated or emotionally impelled.
Consider the words. Commitment is a pledge an obligation and emotionally driven. This is not a word to be taken lightly as it binds those to action. It demonstrates a vow to stay true to a course of action before them. It binds those who commit to company’s goals and objectives on more than just a symbolic level, but must be done with great emotional depth.
To solidify commitment while a highly personal one, an organization can demonstrate commitment in many ways by deeds and activities that show their constituencies how they should act as well to reach the business’ goal. Individual commitment can be demonstrated by;
- Focus on always being professional
- Put the customer first
- Be a good teammate
- Stay motivated and positive
- Always keep yourself focused on the big picture.
To keep employees focused on commitment organizations need to take bold steps;
- Set clear objectives and goals that are easy to understand and measurable
- Construct career growth opportunities and establish development plans
- Respect the voice of your employees, be inclusive and transparent
- Commit to diversity
- Provide a challenging and rewarding work environment
- Be transparent about change
- Advocate for your team and encourage team bonding
- Be consistent, and equitable
- Always provide clear communication and provide clear and objective feedback
At ActionCOACH, there are 14 Points of Culture which serve as pillars of the way the business operates, behaves and what all the members of the organization use to guide their work. At the top of those 14 points, is Commitment and here is how ActionCOACH articulates it as the first point of culture.
Culture Point 1.
“I give myself and everything I commit to 100% until I succeed. I am committed to the Vision, Mission, Culture, and success of ActionCOACH, its current and future team, and its clients at all times. I always recommend products and services of ActionCOACH prior to going outside the company.”
To see the rest of the 13 points of culture visit https://www.actioncoach.com/about/our-culture/.
So ask yourself these questions. What defines commitment in your organization? How do you demonstrate commitment and what activities are your supporting to engage your employees and keep them commitment to the mission and vision of the organization?
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