“Because boss said so.”
“That’s how we’ve always done it.”
“It’s in the ‘unwritten’ rule book.” 🙄
This is called COMPLIANCE.
“Because it’s the right thing to do.”
“This is a better way for these reasons.”
“It’s in line with our values.”
This is called COMMITMENT.
When you’re doing something hard, are you doing it because of compliance or commitment?
Are you doing it because you HAVE to, or you WANT to? 🤔
As a leader and as a parent, it’s a question that is always top of my mind.
Commitment happens when the behaviour persists when
🍩no one’s watching
🍩there is no external forces motivating it (like carrot 🥕 or stick 🏏)
Will people go the extra mile for you when things get crazy? 🏃🏻♀️➡️🏃🏻➡️🏃🏻♂️➡️
I feel so lucky that many of those who have worked for me and with me would do that, and it’s not because I do the bribery thing well 😁🍩🍫
Will my kids eat their veges, pick up active habits, be kind and caring even when I’m not looking?
I hope that by modelling the behaviour of commitment instead of compliance, and by explaining the reasons why I do the hard things I do (for example my crossfit and my night shifts with #Samaritans) the answer will be YES.
Also when I am ‘old and crusty’, they’ll bring their own families to see me and be near me because they WANT to, not because they HAVE to. 🥰
This is really my end goal. 💪🏻
It’s not easy though, because it’s easier to say:
“Eat your broccoli or I’ll turn off the wifi!”
Than it is to say:
“These vege’s form an important part of your daily intake because it helps to scrub out your innards and keep your digestive system humming along to make happy poos. Here look at me while I snarf a whole broccoli head and make my bowels happy 😫🥦😁”
How do you encourage commitment over compliance?
