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I remembered having a discussion with an executive director of a bank years back, and he said to me – despite the kind of skilled and experience people they have hired – that things are not still working the way they had anticipated. I quickly said to him that one thing has been lacking over the years in today’s workforce – and if not checked, the situation will continue to worsen. Surprisingly, that one thing is not lack of skills, not lack of expertise, not lack of experience, not lack of education, not lack of communication skills, not lack of customer service skills and not even lack of innovation skills.
From my experiencing working across industries, the number one key thing I have discovered that is lacking in our workplace of today is commitment. The sad news is that one can have all the skills in this world, all the education and experience but without “that one thing” – commitment – growth and performance will end up being impeded. I really like what Ken Blanchard said “There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient, but when you are committed to something, you accept no excuses – only results.” This is really true, when one is deeply committed to what he or she does, he or she moves away from convenience to dedication. This is pretty much akin to parenting, which all of us know sometimes could be inconveniencing, but every parents whether they like it or not are expected to be dedicated to raising their kids to be successful in life – and that is simply an act of commitment.
Now, many people give so many reasons and justifications for their poor performances. In the last 5 years employee’s productivity has gone down and may likely become worse in the future. When you listen to some workplace excuses and reasons for non-performance, it would be very easy to pick out the fact that the main cause of their non-performance is simply lack of commitment to their jobs. Let’s look at it, when one is not committed, he/she will never go the extra mile for his/her organization, and such person will only do what is convenient to do. You will agree with me that with the current situation of businesses today, no organization anywhere in the world can ever achieve sustainable results working with workforce that will only do what is convenient for them. Every organization needs staff members who are committed and are ready to deliver results regardless circumstances. The reality is – circumstances will always be there – but we have to move away from excuse to having results in mind!
During the training I did for the Nigerian Navy on her 57th anniversary on “Attitudinal Change Transformation” years back, a personnel of an engineering department raised up a point that over the years has created a false impression on employees. He believed that without adequate resources, employees might not deliver expected results. This has been the thinking of so many people till today. The truth of the matter is that resources can never be enough. Employees must learn to make the most out of the available resources. Budgets can be reduced or cut down, but nobody can ever succeed in cutting down or reducing the flow of someone’s attitude.
The commitment gap in many organizations is continuously increasing. Many people are just earning salaries without justifying their pay. “Presenteeism” is now the order of the day. Presenteeism is really difficult to discover as opposed to absenteeism. It exists when employees are fully present in the office, but they are not working, not adding value, and not committed to their jobs. Someone might ask, is it possible for one to be in the office and not working? Yes, when one is present but not adding value to the organization. A committed staff member is always adding value and will keep doing things differently in order to achieve a better result.
Points to ponder:
•It is very important to know that, people do not do what you expect but what you inspect. If you want better results, be ready to inspect. Do not assume that results will naturally come- you might be disappointed.
•Leaders and managers in your organization should show commitments first. People do what they see others doing. Leaders and managers are expected to set the examples. It is much easier to lead others when you are committed.
•Employees should focus less on things that are nice to do, but instead should focus more on things that matter most to the company.
•For your business to grow, you need staff members who are committed. Without commitment, there would be no growth.
Final note:
We must ensure we close up the growing commitment gap in our organization as urgent as possible. Growth, progress and improved performance and profitability would be farfetched with non-committed workforce who is just getting by. We should also be guided by the fact that no amount of skills, expertise, exposure or education can take the place of commitment. As leaders and managers, let us pass the message to our subordinates that nothing can cut short their level of commitment or attitude to achieve any result they want. Show me a man or woman who is committed and I will point to that same person as someone who has the key to their organization’s growth.
‘Uju Onwuzulike
