Page 33 - Fearless Leadership

20 FEARLESS LEADERSHIP

“According to internal surveys, my team already has trust and
alignment.” Wrong. Without third-party confidential surveys, do
not trust the data. Regardless of how effective you are as a leader,
people tell you only what you want to hear. They will not risk their
job, career, or good standing with you and others to give you candid
and honest feedback—especially when the feedback is on how you
need to improve your leadership. People need a safe environment
and process for talking about blind spots and other tough issues.
They need you to foster an open and constructive environment.

If any of the above assumptions apply to your organization, then this
book will help you. Establishing clear behavioral expectations is only the
first step in providing a framework for organizational effectiveness. You will
learn specific behaviors with precise guidelines and skills. These transfor-
mational behaviors achieve two objectives: (1) accelerate the accomplish-
ment of business objectives, and (2) produce immediate business results.

Gaining Commitment or Unleashing Commitment
Most organizations do not lack committed people; what they have are
highly frustrated committed people. My guess is you have exactly this: peo-
ple who want your organization to succeed and want to take pride in their
accomplishments.
A complaint is nothing more than a frustrated commitment. When peo-
ple are resigned and discouraged, they complain, blame, and engage in
unhealthy competition. This unproductive behavior does not mean they
lack commitment. In fact, the opposite is true. People exert their energy
only when they care. When they do not care, they simply withdraw, emo-
tionally and/or physically.

Most organizations do not lack committed people; what they have
are highly frustrated committed people.

If you are serious about organizational transformation, you must answer
a fundamental question: “Do you want to gain commitment from people,
or unleash the commitment they already have?” If your answer is to gain
commitment, you are starting with the assumption that it does not exist.