Every human who has ever led anyone can testify that at some point they have suffered from a lack of commitment.
Which seems counterintuitive to most leaders, to be honest.
You just don’t know why it is that sometimes this non-committal attitude takes the wheel and drives your decision making. Especially when you naturally excel in the decisiveness and action-taking departments.
LACK OF COMMITMENT IS A FICKLE FOE
First, let’s clear one thing up.
Occasional lack of commitment does not mean you’re a failure as a leader. It means you’re a human being.
What it also means is that, without even knowing it, your intuition is trying to tell you something.
It’s a subconscious clue that you’re going against what you believe is the best choice “in your gut.” But, it could also mean that there’s something about the way the situation is unfolding that reminds you of a previous failure when you took a similar course of action before.
In short, fear shows up to the party.
WHAT’S LURKING BEHIND THAT FEAR
When fear arrives, emotions are high. And when emotions run high, intellect runs low.
Think about how difficult it is to focus on making a choice if you’re on edge from the stress or anxiety it’s causing you.
Not an easy task, is it?
It makes it much easier to understand why that decision may be conditional at best given the potential repercussions scare you.
IT’S MORE ABOUT FUTURE-PACING
What’s really going on behind that lack of commitment is most likely an inability to predict or to control the future.
Which, as a leader, is not your job.
In fact, your real job is to make sound choices that align with your core values and the mission and vision of your company.
That’s it.
OTHER FEARS BEHIND NON-COMMITMENT
In truth, there are a couple other potential fears causing you to not fully commit to the decisions you make.
One is, you may feel like you’re “selling out” yourself, your team, or even your business if you commit to what is being proposed to you. Acting on that commitment takes you out of alignment and threatens the integrity of all you know.
The clear solution here is to know who you are and your core values. Boundaries are a must if you want to protect those. Just be sure this isn’t your reptilian brain kicking in to frighten you into not doing something because it’s “new and different” and outside your comfort zone.
Another fear is that you’re not confident in your ability to “perform” on the commitment at hand. And, lack of confidence stems from lack of knowledge and lack of action on that knowledge. Both of which you can do something about to improve.
One last fear worth mentioning is you’re afraid to be vulnerable in front of your team and admit you’re not sure what the best choice is. Instead of hiding that fear of uncertainty, invite them to help you make a better decision.
CONSEQUENCES OF A LACK OF COMMITMENT
Here’s the bigger picture when it comes to making wishy-washy decisions as a leader.
If you do it too often, you are modeling a behavior that your team will identify with and adopt. Once they do, you’ve now baked in one of the top five causes of team dysfunction.
To lead a team that’s strong, sometimes you have to stick to the tough decisions and take your lumps in the process.
TURN LACK OF COMMITMENT INTO AN ADVANTAGE
As a leader, it’s absolutely important to show that you are human.
Admitting you don’t know the best path once in a while makes you more relatable and trustworthy to your team.
Dealing with the head trash that you’re not capable, not setting clear boundaries, or that you’re somehow responsible for every potential outcome is the solution.
What are you struggling to accomplish because you won’t fully commit your bandwidth to getting it done?
Hop on a free strategy session with me to get some guidance on how to clear out that underlying fear.
