Gain Commitment, Gain Everything

*Guest post by King Hickman, DVM and Founding Partner of GPS Dairy Consulting, LLC.

I recently read an article in CEO Today entitled 10 Leadership Tips To Motivate Your Team In 2021 by Manley Hopkinson, founder of the leadership consultancy Manly Talks, LTD and author of Compassionate Leader. A quote that stuck out for me was this:

“My premise has always been to gain commitment – the source – rather than focus on performance or effectiveness, as these are the outcomes. When you gain commitment, you gain everything; it is the source of engagement, collaboration, innovation, accountability, well-being, happiness and performance.”

When providing leadership to a single person or a group of people, it is important to take the time to gain their commitment to the endeavor. You have to help them see the overwhelming vision that where you are leading them will ultimately be a better place. How? Here are a few of Hopkinson’s tips.

• Shut up and listen – first we must listen. If we listen, we can understand; if we understand we can act and if we can act, we can inspire; if we can inspire, we can motivate.
• Mission and purpose – engage your team in creating the mission and purpose. They need to know the why as well as the what and the how to gain commitment.
• Don’t just focus on the task – When things go south the temptation is to focus just on the task or the scoreboard. A leader must balance the effort between achieving the task, building the team and developing the individuals. It is easy to get distracted by the storm, but it is the team that gets you through it.
• Attack the hurricanes – whatever hurricanes may be in your team’s path, big or small, turn them into opportunities, not threats.
• Focus on the positives – your reaction to mistakes either enables learning and growth or stops it dead in its tracks. Remember, it’s not what you say, but how you say it and how you show it.
• Give your people a return on their investment – your people have given you their time, an irreversible commitment – they can’t give it back. As a leader what ROI will you give them?

Take the time to gain your team’s commitment. Spend time with them, listen to them and help them see the vision. In doing so, you will build a culture that delivers.

To read the entire article by Manly Hopkinson follow this link: https://www.ceotodaymagazine.com/2020/12/10-leadership-tips-to-motivate-your-team-in-2021/