Commitment is the Cornerstone to Enabling Change

“You always have two choices.  Your commitment versus your fear.” - Sammy Davis Jr.

Organizational change can only happen after a deep sense of commitment to change is exhibited.  As a leader role modeling this deep sense of commitment to the future, is the focus.  An upfront investment of time, resources, and hard dollars are required to actually make change happen. 

As a leader you first must change yourself, by changing how committed you are to the future, to ultimately unlock and manifest the change you seek in your organization.  Avoid falling victim to the trap of not investing in change management support up front. 

On the contrary, consider over investing in the time and energy upfront to deepen this sense of commitment with yourself, your leadership team and your organization.  Invest time, energy, and resources with your leadership team to help them feel, experience and exhibit this commitment. 

Examples might include, an offsite with your team dedicated to leading and navigating change, dedicating a segment of each of your leadership team meetings to discussing change or having your team complete a Change Charter outlining the actions they will take to role model their commitment to change. 

Finally, with all of this, you must exhibit a sense of Trust, that this upfront investment of time and energy will provide a return in the future. 

In the Stages of Change Commitment Model, research suggests that individuals go through three distinct phases to ultimately reach a sense of commitment. 

The first, is preparation, this stage is where individuals first make contact with the notion that change is underway. 

The second, is acceptance, this is where individuals begin to ‘shift their mindset’ to come to grips with the idea that change is afoot. 

Finally, in the third phase, individuals reach a sense of commitment.  This three phase cycle individuals experience to reach the needed level of commitment, varies by individual.  Some individuals can move through this three stage cycle quickly, where others it may take more time. 

The underpinning idea to help individuals reach a level of commitment is to focus efforts around shifting their mindset.  To accelerate commitment, as a leader or manager you must help individuals shift their mindset.  The first step is teaching them to become more aware of their mindset. 

Similar to the notion, ‘you can’t fix a problem, until you are willing to admit you have a problem’, individuals need to become more aware of their need for commitment and where their reservation or resistance to commit comes from (this is their mindset).  Often, our fears for committing  to the future are simply an illusion. 

Provide your team the dedicated space and time to discuss their fears or reservations for commitment.  This is a first step in heightening their awareness and shifting their mindset.

The most common reason we resist committing to change, is our desire to keep control.  When we commit to an unknown future, the discomfort we feel is due to our brains craving for certainty and when we don't feel a sense of certainty we perceive we are losing control. 

To help offset this for yourself, stay focused on the fact that you can control fully committing (or not) to the future, regardless of the outcome.  Aim to stay focused on the actions you can take, that help you deepen your level of commitment to the future.  Additionally, our resistance to commit to the future can be a result of our own cognitive rigidity.  Cognitive rigidity is the degree to which we can accept new information or demands. 

Heightening the awareness of our own cognitive rigidity, can help us more openly and freely accept changing circumstances with an increased degree of commitment.  When you are experiencing change, reflect on the behaviors and patterns you have exhibited during past changes. 

Write down in a journal some of the common reactions or fears you’ve experienced when dealing with change (at work or in your personal life).  This small step will help heighten your awareness, and aid you in more easily finding a deeper commitment to the future.