Commitment(orCompliance)

"Commitment" is a word with rather magnanimous connotations.  It implies an all-in sort of mentality that we much prefer when pursuing a common goal (whether as a family, as a church, as a school, as a business, or as a nation).

Many leaders falsely believe that by enacting and enforcing a strident set of rules/laws/procedures/protocols they somehow foster commitment among the followership.  Not!  Such requirements do nothing more than compel compliance (most often, quite begrudgingly).

Wise leaders understand that true commitment comes from a triadic mindset in those who follow:  

1. A willingness to personally take on the responsibility, the ownership, that goes with pursuit of a particular goal (or set of goals).
2. The willingness to fully invest one's energy, time, thinking, and resources in pursuit of said goal(s).
3. The willingness to forsake other (lesser?) goals in the pursuit of said chosen goals.

At the root of committed followership is the word "willingness."  True commitment, from any of us, comes only when we willingly join the endeavor.

Wise leaders (whether parents or presidents) waste no precious time on trivial pursuits, bogus goals, and/or hollow promises.  Those things simply don't sell.