Competing for commitment

My first job was in software engineering research, and I was offered some lecturing work in the university, teaching systems thinking to psychology students. I hit a problem immediately: computers can be tricky, but they do what they're told. This is not so true for human beings. A lot of these budding psychologists wanted to learn about Freud or social psychology, not systems. I quickly discovered that I couldn't get them take an interest just because I said so; I had to start to deal with things like motivation and commitment.

I was well-meaning and enthusiastic. But that wasn’t enough. I also needed know-how. Trouble was, no one had taught me how to engage the students. I tried my best, but my delivery was so dull that some students would come to the beginning of the class, take a handout and disappear before I started to lecture!

As painful as that was for me it was also a great spur. I looked for answers far and wide, and what I learned from it affected my career well beyond my university days. I came to understand that leadership communication, like teaching, is more than a matter of “just the facts” or "just the instructions". It was not enough simply to “deliver” the material. I had to compete for the students’ attention, and I had to recognise they were starting from very different perspectives. I had to acknowledge and work with their autonomy. If I didn't, I faced apathy or resistance.

If I wanted my students to become committed to their learning, I had to go beyond just teaching to the test. That meant inviting their curiosity, encouraging them to explore, and then finding ways to transfer ownership of the learning, so that they could complete projects and train themselves to do what it took to excel. Once I found the formula, my lectures became popular and well-attended.

But more importantly, many of my students started showing initiative: reading around the subject, asking deeper questions and turning in work of such a high standard that it was remarked on by external examiners. They had taken ownership, and it showed in their achievements.

I left the world of teaching undergraduates a long time ago. But the lessons I learned had become a part of my natural approach. As I started to work with business clients, I drew on the same skills, helping leaders engage their people. It’s only since those leaders started to ask me about what I was doing that I realised the link and made it explicit as the C.E.O. formula:

Invite CURIOSITY, encourage EXPLORATION, transfer OWNERSHIP.

The C.E.O. formula is explained in my new book, Committed Action: The three-step method to inspire your people to take ownership and get results available on Amazon from 7th November. There will be a special price on the Kindle edition all that week.?