All quotes from The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni

You’ve laid the foundation of trust [Connect To Each Other: A Healthy Team Starts with an Authentic You] and you’ve engaged in creative conflict. [Connect to Each Other: Healthy Conflict]. When we are successful at these, your team can achieve commitment. What does commitment look like in TC? The TC staff members walk out of the office as one voice. They are unified; not undercutting and backstabbing the other staff members or the decisions and projects at hand. (Those things only happens at other TC ministries, not yours of course.) People will actively commit to a decision when:

1. they have had an opportunity to provide input
2. they are allowed to ask questions
3. they understand the rationale behind it

“If people don’t weigh in, they can’t buy in.”

“Commitment does not mean consensus.” There are many times when TC staff members must, “Disagree and commit – even when people can’t come to an agreement around an issue. They must still leave the room unambiguously committed to a common course of action.”

“One of a leader’s most important responsibilities: breaking ties. When a leader knows that everyone on the team has weighed in and provided every possible perspective needed for a fully informed decisions, he can then bring a discussion to a clear and unambiguous close and expect the members to rally round the final decision even if they initially disagreed with it. Most people are generally reasonable and can rally round an idea that wasn’t their own as long as they know they’ve had a chance to weigh in.”

You may have to draw out those who have a tendency to nod and smile when a decision is made. Passive agreement results in staff members who return to their job, complaining or doing nothing to support the decision.

“Prevent passive sabotage. Demand conflict from team members. Let team members know that they are going to be held accountable for doing whatever they, the team, ultimately decides.”

When the staff members fall short of arriving at specific agreements at the end of their discussions, there is little to no commitment. So,

• “Take a few minutes to ensure that everyone sitting at the table is walking away with the same understanding about what has to been agreed to and what they are committed to.”
• “Functional teams review their commitments and stick around long enough to clarify anything that isn’t crystal clear.”
• “A good way to ensure that people take this process seriously is to demand that they go back to their teams after the meeting and communicate exactly what was agreed on”

LEADER’S ROLE:   Break ties. Force clarity and closure.

Think about it

• What issue is at the center of staff disunity?
• What big change or decision is coming that impacts the ministry?
• Identify it, set a meeting and get it out on the table. Don’t leave the meeting until you’ve had creative conflict and ensured commitment.