Building a culture of commitment

In both our personal and professional lives, we’re constantly striving towards goals. We fixate on outcomes – the sales figures, the profit margins, even our own weight. These tangible results are what keep us up at night, the metrics by which we measure success. But what if I told you this focus on outcomes is actually holding us back? What if the real key to success lies not in the destination, but in the journey itself?

Outcomes, while important, are merely a reflection of the past. They tell us where we’ve been, not where we’re going. Basing decisions solely on outcomes is like driving a car while staring in the rearview mirror – you’re bound to miss the road ahead. Just as stepping on the scale every day won’t magically lead to weight loss, obsessing over performance indicators won’t steer us towards future success.

The real key to achieving our goals lies not in the outcomes themselves, but in the actions that drive them – the Key Activities. These are the high-impact tasks that move the needle, the strategic moves that propel us forward.

Think of it like this: if your goal is to lose weight, the outcome is the number on the scale. But the Key Activities are the diet and exercise habits that will actually get you there. It’s not rocket science, but it’s a crucial distinction: focusing on actions, not just results, is the most effective way to influence our outcomes.

Defining Key Activities  

Key Activities aren’t just any tasks; they’re the ones that have the biggest impact on your goals. They’re the 20% of efforts that drive 80% of the results. Identifying and prioritizing these high-impact activities is essential for maximizing your efforts and achieving strategic success.

But how do we distinguish Key Activities from the endless stream of tasks that fill our days? To answer this, we need to understand a bit about how our brains work.

Beneath the surface of our modern lives, our brains haven’t changed much since prehistoric times. We’re still wired for survival, and this can lead us into behavioral traps that hinder our productivity and effectiveness.

Our brains are hardwired to react. The amygdala, our primal fear center, is constantly scanning for threats, triggering a fight-or-flight response. In the modern workplace, this translates into a constant state of reactivity, where we’re constantly bombarded by urgent emails, notifications, and deadlines.

This reactivity can quickly derail our best intentions. We start the week with ambitious plans, only to find ourselves consumed by a whirlwind of urgent but unimportant tasks. The result? Our most important goals get pushed aside, again and again.

Secondly, our brains also have a tendency to prioritize what’s urgent over what’s important. We’re drawn to tasks with immediate deadlines, even if they’re not the most impactful. This urgency bias can lead us to neglect the strategic activities that will truly move the needle in the long run.

Finally, we’re naturally inclined to stick to what we know, to stay within our comfort zones. We gravitate towards tasks we’re already good at, avoiding the discomfort of learning and growing. But real growth and high performance come from stepping outside that comfort zone and embracing new challenges.

The Trifecta of Impact  

To design truly impactful Key Activities, we need to overcome these primal instincts. We need to focus on tasks that are:

• Proactive: Instead of just reacting to problems, we need to focus on creating opportunities.
• Important: We need to prioritize tasks that align with our most important goals, not just the urgent demands of the day.
• Challenging: We need to embrace tasks that push us beyond our comfort zones, where real growth and innovation happen.

When we combine these three principles, we create a powerful formula for success. But it’s not always easy. These tasks, by their very nature, can trigger procrastination and resistance. We may find ourselves overthinking, making excuses, or simply avoiding them altogether.

But remember, greatness isn’t born from comfort. It’s forged in the fires of challenge and perseverance. By embracing the discomfort and pushing through the resistance, we can unlock our full potential and achieve extraordinary results.

A Modern Performance Management System  

In today’s disruptive business environment, traditional performance management systems, which often rely on delegating responsibility and steering based solely on outcomes, are falling short. A more proactive and effective approach is needed, one that aligns the company’s efforts with its priorities in real-time.

Activity-based steering offers a solution. By empowering teams to identify a few high-impact actions—the Key Activities—and using these as a basis for steering and monitoring progress, organizations can create a performance management system that is both future-proof and resilient. It’s like driving your car while looking out the front windshield, rather than relying solely on the rear-view mirror.

The true potential of this approach lies in its ability to unleash the power of the often-overlooked middle tier of your workforce. These individuals, brimming with potential, have the capacity to elevate their performance to match that of your top achievers. When this central majority is empowered by a clear understanding of the Key Activities essential for success, the ripple effect is a collective elevation in performance. As the central workforce begins to mirror the excellence of the top performers, the organization’s average performance level rises, propelling the company toward collective triumphs and a heightened standard of achievement. In this revolution, the ‘middle’ isn’t just middle—it’s the new center of excellence.

Activity-based steering isn’t about micromanaging every task; it’s about creating a culture where every contribution is purposeful and measured. It’s about fostering an environment where the progress of each Key Activity is a deliberate step towards strategic success.

When I talk about activity-based steering, I emphasize the word “steering.” It’s crucial to ensure that teams have a regular commitment and follow-up session, at least weekly, to ensure these key behaviors are executed. This is where Strategy Stand-Ups come into play.

Why Strategy Stand-Ups Matter  

Strategy Stand-Ups are short, weekly meetings (15-30 minutes) that focus exclusively on progress toward the team’s Most Important Goals, emphasizing the Key Activities. They are about maintaining focus. They ensure that the big, needle-moving initiatives don’t get lost in the daily shuffle. For teams, they provide a clear roadmap and a sense of shared purpose. For individuals, they foster a sense of accountability and empowerment.

High-commitment teams, fueled by Strategy Stand-Ups, are a force to be reckoned with. They don’t just do the work; they go above and beyond. They’re not about excuses; they’re about excellence. They take charge of their calendars, tackle the tough stuff head-on, and ensure that the big priorities remain front and center.

The Promise of Commitment  

This isn’t about ticking boxes or appeasing the boss. It’s about making and keeping promises – to peers, to the company, and to oneself. It’s about taking ownership, embracing challenges, and consistently delivering on commitments.

This culture of commitment is the secret sauce that propels organizations to new heights. It transforms goals from distant aspirations into tangible realities. It’s the driving force behind the Execution Revolution, where every individual plays a vital role in shaping the future.

Written by Johan Grönstedt.