The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team – #3 Lack Of Commitment

In the context of a team, commitment is a function of two things: clarity and buy-in. By avoiding conflict, we allow people to be passive. The result is that they can’t commit if they don’t CARE and they can’t CARE if they are passive. Sometimes in the pursuit of unanimity we seek artificial harmony, and that leads to low levels of commitment.

The roadblocks to commitment:

1. The need for consensus, living our life by committee
2. The fear of failure
3. Lack of communication
4. Mismatched team members
5. A team that fails to commit:
6. Creates ambiguity within the team about direction and priorities
7. Watches windows of opportunity close due to excessive analysis and unnecessary delay
8. Breeds lack of confidence and fear of failure
9. Revisits discussions and decisions again and again
10. Encourages second-guessing among team members

Patrick Lencioni offers these suggestions for overcoming the lack of commitment: “Productive teams make clear decisions and are confident that they have the support of every team member. A lack of commitment usually arises from not hearing all of the team’s concerns before making a decision. There can be no commitment without debate. People will not buy into something when their opinions and thoughts on the matter were not included and discussed. If they don’t weigh in, then they won’t buy in.” This is not as much about seeking consensus as it is about making sure that everyone is heard.

At the end of the day everyone needs to get to the point where they can say, “I may not agree with your ideas but I understand them and can support them.” We call these “honest-while-respectful conversations."

Some of the easiest ways to break through lack of commitment is to create a safe environment with constant communication using your clarify and verify skills (weekly team meetings), deadlines with weekly accountability (weekly reporting), and quarterly firm retreats that result in specific measurable results.

At the end of the day lack of commitment is often a by-product of lack of intentional leadership.

“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstances permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”

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Molly L. Hall, Co-Founder, Lawyers with Purpose, LLC, and author of Don’t Be a Yes Chick: How to Stop Babysitting Your Boss, Transform Your Job and Work with a Dream Team Without Losing Your Sanity or Your Spirit in the Process.