You Can't Make Me!

Have you ever heard a staff member say "You can't make me" after receiving instructions in the work environment, relative to her assigned duties? Probably not! But herein lies the rub; within the work environment, these four words are, figuratively speaking, uttered on a daily basis. The most appropriate translation would be "I'm not emotionally committed to doing what you want me to do."

A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to serve as a juror on a case and I watched witness after witness take the stand, raise their right hand and swear to "tell the truth and nothing but the truth." However, it was obvious that being directed swear by God to tell the truth is futile if the individual doesn't feel like it. This became increasingly obvious when one of the witnesses responded to the DA by saying "I didn't come here to talk about..." The judge looked on in dismay, and instructed the DA to repeat her question and instructed the witness to answer, or else.

Aside from the brief courtroom drama, one would think the judge got what he asked for, 'an answer'. However, I doubt that there was any heartfelt emotional commitment to the oath the witness had taken earlier. At this point, the witness was being pressured by the judge to provide a verbal response. Yet, it's questionable whether or not the judge got what he really wanted--a heartfelt emotional commitment to telling the truth. So, once again there is evidence of the limited abilities of the 'carrot and stick' methods of leadership.

Here is the catch, not only is the 'carrot and stick' methods of submission to authority a weak one, most of the time the leader is oblivious to exactly how weak it really is. This is not to say that the 'carrot and stick' approach to leadership is completely without merit. And sometime you have no choice but to respond in the same manner as the judge. But, know this; whatever you get it won't be laced with a positive emotional commitment to deliver. What you can count on, in most cases, with this technique is silent back lashing in the way of production slowdowns, poor performance, subpar customer service, noncompliance of procedural guidelines, and non-commitment to doing anything to save your a** (i.e. ongoing silence to future problems or threats on the part of the employee). Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could trade all of this unnecessary unpleasantness for positive heartfelt emotional interchange? Let's face it, in today's economy organizations need employees who are emotionally committed to advancing the cause.

Today's leaders will have to devise far more creative ways to draw out heartfelt emotional engagement. And the first place to start is with you (the leader). You first have to examine your own heart. Are you emotionally committed and passionate about your job? If you're not you will be hard pressed to connect with your staff members in such a way that you can help bring out the best in them. People, generally speaking, learn a lot through observation and engagement with others. Hence, if your attitude, your language or tone is void of the words "I care about you", don't expect much from others. Or, at least don't assume you are getting their best.

Challenge round: Do you think positive emotional commitment to a task or job can easily be hidden? Why or why not? As a leader what would you do to engage employees on a positive emotional level without the use of 'carrots and sticks'?