Conditional Commitment : Much has been spoken and written about the difference that commitment makes in achieving success in business and in life. In difficult economic times for business (or maybe even personal relationships), I feel that one of the greatest obstacles to progress or achieving breakthroughs, is what I call Conditional Commitment. So I developed a commitment continuum to help us understand if there might in fact be different types of commitment at play.
Commitment Continuum:
5. Unconditional & Complete Commitment ….Fully commited even under great uncertainty and accepting of the outcomes even though there may be negative consequences personally.
4. Conditional Commitment … Commitment is dependent on the person’s unspoken needs being met. They are masters at the verbalization of commitment and exceptionally skilled at directing low impact actions and cheer leading to feign commitment.
3. Referral Commitment….Commitment is dependent and linked to that of others.
2. Deceptive Commitment.. Not commited, the person verbalize they are but with little energy and no other noticeable signs of commitment.
1. Self-Declared Non-Commitment…Not commited and honest and forthright about where they stand.
As one looks at the above continuum, it is easy to accept that those at the beginning and end of the continuum are pretty easy to recognize. In fact I would argue that levels 1, 2, 3, and 5 are easy to recognize and that 2 and 3 are relatively unsophisticated and hence easier to manage. However Conditional Commitment is the level that I feel has the potential to paralyze many organizations.
How I characterize it is when people verbalize their commitment but it is not authentic, as the underlying intent behind it is that their commitment is conditional on their own (often UNSPOKEN) personal needs being met. This conditional commitment is very similar to the famous Passive Aggressive style of engagement. It is not uncommon for people to go out of their way to convince others that they are commited. They may even engage in low impact activities as part of the campaign to feign their commitment. If the individuals have significant power in the organization then it can be exceptionally difficult to identify, call and address this behavior. For this reason I see this as a cancer within the business environment and if it is practiced by the Snr. Executives then it quickly becomes a learned behavior and an engrained part of the culture. So in difficult economic times, this FOR SURE will limit the capacity to be resourceful and innovative enough to finding the breakthroughs needed for improved performance.
Hello Pat,
I certainly miss your insights…
I think your on the money with this one. Having lived through the “Conditional Commitment”… This has triggered other unpleasant phenomena such as distrust,,, cya behaviors that leads to inefficacies that are difficult to quantify.?!
I look forward to your next post…
Geo.
By: George Serpa on November 16, 2009
at 12:20 am
Interesting insights, Patrick. Much food for thought, in terms of how to manage in an environment full of “stuckees” at #4.
On the flip side, I wonder if there is any correlation between the “conditional commitment” of employees and that of businesses. It this simply a (sad) sign of our times, with everyone just having hidden agendas?
By: Robi Mendel on November 24, 2009
at 9:19 pm
Pat, Would you care to elaborate on approaches to “outing” those who seem to be operating @ 4 and are Principles or Senior Managers. I can think of no way without substantial risk.
Also If the Focus of commitment for a level 3 looses favor, and or moves on how do you keep the baby from being thrown out with the bath water?
By: Joseph Simmons on December 8, 2009
at 3:24 pm