The role of competence and commitment

Causes of low commitment vary dramatically, from interpersonal conflict on the job to emotional upheaval at home. Such causes can only be discovered through proactive listening. At times, the diagnosis and subsequent treatment of a motivational problem require special assistance. In this case, the best a manager can do is recognize a need for professional help and offer advice and support. 

Coaching conversations are needed when a person s competence and commitment regarding safety are relatively low. You can improve competence through specific direction and feedback, and increase commitment by sincerely giving appreciahon and support. Anything that increases a person s perception of importance or self-worth on the job can enhance commitment. What makes that happen It is not always obvious, but if you listen, observe, and ask questions, you will find out. 

Delegating is relevant when people know what to do (competence) and are motivated to do it. You can often know when an individual or work team advances to this level by observing successive progress. However, it is often useful to ask people whether they are ready for this level of conversation. If they say no, then ask them what they need to reach this stage. Do they need more competence through direction or more commitment through some kind of support the organization could make available  

I hope I have convinced you that the status of safety in your organization is greatly determined by how safety is talked about—from the managers board room to the workers break room. Whether we feel responsible for safety and are committed to go for a breakthrough depends on our interpretation or mental script about safety conversation. 

We often focus our interpersonal and intrapersonal conversations on the past. This helps us connect with others, but it also feeds our prejudice filters and limits the potential for conversation to facilitate beneficial change. We enable progress when we move conversations with ourselves and others from past to future possibilities and then to the development of an action plan. 

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