Page 253 - Fearless Leadership

240 FEARLESS LEADERSHIP

the strength of the decision, intellectual alignment folds under pressure
and people go off in different directions.
Ursula was a strong proponent for creating an exceptional customer expe-
rience. When it came time to commit to a plan of action she threw her hat
in the ring and wholeheartedly aligned. But a few months later, when it
was time to implement changes in her area, she felt differently. She was
unprepared for the impact the new plan was having on her people, and
when she saw their response, she withdrew her support for the decision.
When an individual or group is not emotionally and intellectually com-
mitted, alignment is unsustainable. Something will invariably happen that
will cause the group to splinter and execute a decision inconsistently, or
not execute it at all.
Signs of intellectual alignment include these:

• Supporting the decision, but lacking full commitment for
executing the decision from beginning to end
• Understanding the decision intellectually but failing to consider
the impact on others
• Believing it is the right thing to do but lacking personal convic-
tion to champion the decision
• Thinking you are intellectually and emotionally committed,
when there is still something holding you back
Level 5: Emotionally and Intellectually Committed. Leaders spend
most of their time analyzing, evaluating, and assessing, but they spend lit-
tle time considering the emotional domain of commitment. Alignment is
both intellectual and emotional, and most breakdowns occur because
there is insufficient commitment in both areas. Intellectual commitment
is comfortable and familiar: it includes a checklist of such key business
factors as financial, legal, resource, and personnel considerations that must
be satisfactorily met before a decision is made. In contrast, the landscape
of emotional commitment is less familiar and less comfortable.
Emotional commitment requires a personal investigation of two
elements:

1. How you personally feel about the decision—your level of
commitment, passion, and enthusiasm.
2. How the decision lines up with your personal core values.