Lessons from Long Distance Running: Commitment to Change

Picture by Sayan Samana

This is part of the series "Lessons from Change Management Strategies and Long Distance Running."

Commitment, real, tangible, behavioral commitment, is essential not only for success but for completing a long distance race or a change initiative. For me running a 25K race,  commitment consisted of the following things...

1. Public commitment: I agreed with a couple of friends that we would tackle this together and I announced it on my Facebook wall. My pride was at stake!
2. I got one of the "team jackets" from one of the guys in our group which gave me a sense of commitment to the group.
3. Money talks they say, so I registered and paid for the race. I also purchased high performance shoes! This was an investment I wasn't willing to waste. Immediately I noticed I was running with more regularity 
4. No turning back. During long runs, I'd run in a straight line (instead of a circuit or multiple circles) one way so I would have to come back after the half way point. I knew I could do the first 5 or 6 or 7 miles, but after reaching that milestone I had to run the second leg!
5. The day of the race I brought with me my wife and kids to watch. I did not want to let them down. Their presence kept me going even though my right knee started aching early at mile 3!

In organizations, change programs often begin with sizzle but quickly fizzle because of lack of commitment. Presentations and 'talk' may abound. But real, tangible commitment isn't there until it is followed by actions. Here is the corollary to long distance running...

1. A trusted leader makes a public commitment to the initiative
2. A strong coalition of trusted leaders joins in support of the initiative by taking on specific roles to support, guide, and remove barriers as the initiative progresses.
3. A significant financial investment is made in the initiative such as a budget, dedicated internal resources, external support required, etc.
4. Set key milestones with go/no go decision points to fully commit to the next phase of the project.
5. Engage the whole organization in the effort and make as many people as possible a part of it.

For sure there are other ways to develop and demonstrate commitment. The bottom line is that without real commitment, both actual and perceived, a change initiative will most likely not succeed nor yield the full benefits.

Commitment (part of the preparation work) is a function of effective leadership. Memos and presentation slides, though important, are not necessarily commitment. Implementation teams and affected stakeholders will only commit to a change mandate if they sense and see a strong, tangible commitment from their leaders. And that's walk, not just talk!