Introducing Commitment-based Management
Like a migrating flock of birds, a team's members need to be able to align together again and again. Alignment isn’t something you can set and forget. Requirements will shift, problems will emerge, conflict will arise. What one member does (or fails to do) will affect the ability of other members to deliver.
The standard team model has people setting and agreeing to tasks without digging into what is needed by whom, when and why. This leads to misunderstandings, misalignments and missed deadlines.
Although there are many theories and models about producing great teams, most focus on a team’s process, goals and objectives. Commitment-based Management is different. It’s based on the understanding that teams are made up of interdependent individuals who must be prepared to negotiate change and challenges together.
Task-based Teams vs. Commitment-based Teams
Task-based Teams
Each team member has their own interpretation about what they’re doing and how they will work together.
Commitment-based Teams
Members engage in constructive conversations that clarify what each person is committed to doing and how the team functions.
The leader sets the vision and mission of the team. Members likely haven’t thought much about it.
Each member owns the values, vision and shared mission of the team.
Members focus on their areas of expertise and tasks assigned to them.
Members pay attention more broadly so they can make and manage meaningful commitments to the team.
Members only listen for what pertains to their tasks.
Members listen for what isn’t being asked or said (relevant details, concerns, desires, needs), so they can best serve the team and its objectives.
Members only pay attention to their own needs.
Members are aware of interdependencies and how their work affects others.
Members identify people on the team who they trust. They limit interactions and avoid confrontation with people they don’t trust.
Members work to build trust with each other and become aware of how their own actions can undermine trust.
Each member does what they think they need to do to get things done, hoping that others will do the same
Members create clear standards for the team’s performance
How it works
Commitment-based Management orients team members around commitments and provides advanced communication tools to clarify and negotiate them.
Why commitments? Whereas team processes, goals and objectives are generally set by a leader, commitments are the stock and trade of the people doing the work and delivering the results. Team members who actively co-design the commitments they make with others are more likely to stay engaged, tackle problems together and deliver results that matter.
Shared ownership, clarity and accountability
The Commitment-based Management methodology gives team members a structure and shared language to engage in conversations that create shared ownership, clarity and accountability.
Team members learn to ask themselves: When I’m complete, what does success look like? What exactly am I committing to? To whom am I committing? What do they understand I will be delivering? By when?
Fewer misunderstandings, more effective responses
The practice of making and managing commitments requires that team members pay more attention to their customer’s concerns. They must negotiate and clarify expectations to reduce misunderstandings that can cause costly delays and errors. They also respond more effectively to the inevitable changes and obstacles that come up during projects.
Goodbye to silos, hello to collaboration
This is a powerful shift for a team. By aligning around commitments, no one works in a silo. It’s no longer acceptable to focus exclusively on one’s own work while ignoring team interdependencies. Members hold each other accountable not just for what they’ve agreed to deliver, but also for the way they work together as a team.
The quality of conversations between team members makes the difference between producing sloppy versus extraordinary results. Rather than wasting time and resources on unwanted or unusable products, members take ownership and speak up. They are committed.