The Commitment Continuum: Charging Up Your Team's Battery

Imagine your team’s engagement as a battery bar on a smartphone. A fully charged battery represents employees who are fully engaged and committed, while a drained battery reflects disengagement and resistance. The key to keeping these batteries charged lies in understanding and leveraging each individual’s unique talents and motivations. However, the way managers exercise authority and enforce rules plays a critical role in this dynamic..

Full Charge: Commitment (100%)

A fully charged battery signifies an employee who is not just doing their job but is thriving in it. They are energized, motivated, and deeply committed because their natural talents are recognized and put to good use. When managers focus on what makes each person tick and provide the right environment, they enable that person to excel and bring their best to work.

Example: Consider Emily, who thrives when she can take ideas and run with them. Emily’s manager knows that she’s at her best when she’s given the freedom to lead projects from concept to execution. Because her manager encourages her to take initiative and values her creativity, Emily is fully committed. She’s always eager to contribute and improve upon ideas. Her battery is at 100% because her work aligns perfectly with her strengths and passions.

Commitment flourishes when work aligns with one’s natural talents and the freedom to innovate is encouraged.

Mid-Charge: Compliance (50-60%)

At mid-charge, an employee is compliant—getting the work done but without the spark of true engagement. This often happens when a person’s talents are acknowledged but not fully tapped into, or when there’s a mismatch between what they’re good at and what they’re being asked to do.

Example: Take Michael, who excels at following procedures and ensuring fairness. Michael is reliable and does his job well, but his role doesn’t challenge him to think critically or solve complex problems, which is where he could truly shine. His manager assigns him routine tasks that fit his skills, but because these tasks don’t fully engage him, his battery hovers around 60%. He’s compliant but not fully engaged because his potential isn’t being fully realized.

Compliance maintains the status quo, but true engagement requires challenging one’s potential.

Low Charge: Resistance (0-25%)

At the lowest charge level, between 0-25%, you find resistance. This is where employees are disengaged, disillusioned, and often actively resisting their work. Resistance often arises when there’s a significant disconnect between what someone is naturally good at and their role, or when a manager abuses authority by overly relying on strict rules and policies, without considering individual needs and motivations.

Example: Consider Karen, who is a natural problem-solver and loves tackling complex challenges. However, her manager, Mark, places a heavy emphasis on maintaining strict control and adherence to established rules. Mark believes that rigid structure and strict enforcement of policies are the best ways to ensure productivity. He frequently cites rules and regulations to justify his decisions and expects his team to follow orders without question.

Because Mark overly relies on authority and rigid rules, he assigns Karen to repetitive administrative tasks that don’t engage her problem-solving skills. When Karen suggests improvements or new approaches, Mark dismisses them, fearing that deviations from the norm might lead to mistakes or inefficiencies. Over time, Karen’s energy and enthusiasm wane. She feels undervalued and unchallenged, leading her to disengage from her work. Her battery is nearly drained—she’s operating at just 20%. Karen’s resistance is a direct consequence of Mark’s inflexible, rule-bound approach, which suppresses her creativity and ignores her strengths.

Over-reliance on authority and rigid rules stifles creativity and breeds resistance.

The Danger of Authority Abuse

Over-reliance on authority and strict rules can create an environment where employees feel stifled and controlled, rather than supported and empowered. While rules and policies are necessary to maintain order and fairness, using them as the primary tool for management can lead to resistance. Employees may follow the rules to avoid conflict, but this compliance often comes at the cost of engagement, creativity, and long-term commitment.

Charging the Battery: The Manager’s Role

Managers are like the chargers that can either energize or drain their team’s batteries. By focusing on individual strengths and understanding the impact of their management style, managers can recharge their team’s batteries, moving them from resistance to compliance, and ultimately, to full commitment.

Strengths-Based Development:

A manager who recognizes and nurtures what their employees naturally excel at can significantly boost engagement. For example, by giving Michael more responsibilities that require careful planning and critical thinking, his manager could increase his battery level from compliance to commitment.

Coaching Mindset:

When managers adopt a coaching mindset and resist the urge to overly rely on authority, they not only help employees perform better but also foster their personal and professional growth. If Mark were to recognize how Karen thrives on solving complex problems and reduce his reliance on rigid rules, he could involve her in projects that require strategic thinking, thus recharging her battery and transforming resistance into commitment.

Authentic Leadership: The Ultimate Charger

To keep the battery bar in the green, managers need to be authentic leaders who care about their team members as individuals, not just as employees. This means:

Personal Connections: Understand what makes each person on your team thrive. Recognize the unique contributions they can make when they’re doing what they do best.

Flexibility and Trust: While rules are important, flexibility and trust are key to fostering a committed workforce. Allow space for creativity and autonomy.

Growth Opportunities: Provide roles and tasks that align with their natural talents, offering challenges that allow them to grow and thrive.

Trust Building: Lead with transparency and align your words with actions, creating a culture of trust and mutual respect.

Authentic leadership charges the team’s battery, moving them from mere compliance to full, energized commitment.

Conclusion

Just like keeping your phone’s battery charged is essential to its functionality, maintaining your employees’ engagement by focusing on what they naturally do best is critical to your organization’s success. By focusing on strengths, embracing a coaching mindset, and leading with authenticity—rather than relying solely on authority—you can move your team along the Commitment Continuum, from resistance to compliance, and ultimately to full, energized commitment. Keep those batteries charged, and watch your team shine.

This article first appeared on LinkedIn Article on Sep 04 2024.