By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady

In a recent column in Workforce Management, Gershon Mader and Josh Leibner, consultants with Quantum Performance, Inc., wrote about “commitment” (not the kind that women look for in men—that would be a subject for a column elsewhere!). Mader and Leibner argued that, more than anything else, commitment is what matters for employee performance. People can be well trained and have the best resources and a great strategy, but they also need drive.

The two also argued that HR managers should see themselves as “commitment coaches.” They should reach out to their CEOs and coach them in how to build commitment in the workforce. The writers' hypothesis: An employee’s performance can rise no higher than his or her commitment. HR should take on the challenge of educating CEOs to this fact.

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I See Problems

I agree—sort of. Over the years at BLR, we’ve had our share of really smart, very well educated people who misfired, often because they were bored by the “mundane” tasks of doing the research, writing, and production that our customers pay us to do. On the other hand, we’ve had (and still have) many, many staffers who make “above-level” contributions because they understand how to make our customers happy and do whatever is necessary. Clearly, intelligence is only part of the battle. Commitment counts.

But Mader and Leibner should consider two issues.

First, commitment, alone, doesn’t do it. Your workforce has to be committed to the right things—the things that will drive your organization’s mission forward. Some companies succeed through product innovation. Some through customer service. Some through operations. So just commitment isn’t enough—employees also have to be aligned to their organization’s strategy and goals.

At highly successful companies, employees know what their organization’s “secret sauce” is, and they are relentless about executing on it. At less successful operations, it’s not uncommon to have highly “committed” employees working on the wrong things.

What makes the difference? I think above all, it is management’s ability to formulate and communicate strategy. If management doesn’t know where it wants to go, any road will take them there—and employees can’t be faulted for taking any and all roads, either.

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Is HR Able to Be Commitment Coach to Management?

My second problem with Mader and Leibner’s article has to do with how realistic it is to suggest that HR can be a CEO’s “commitment coach.”

Do HR managers have the kind of access and organizational clout that such an initiative would require? Is it realistic to believe that HR can change a CEO’s character?

In some workplaces it may be, but if it isn’t, HR shouldn’t set itself up for failure by making it a goal. Better to make goals that are achievable, given HR’s role and the tools available. If we can show the C-level that we have commitment and know how to build it in the troops—and that it makes a difference—then we’ll have something to sell to the upper ranks.

What to Do

First, use existing tools (goal setting, performance appraisals, etc.) to help staffers focus on the right things. If you’re lucky enough to work for an organization that has well thought out goals and objectives, make sure these are translated to individual performance goals and used by managers and supervisors. If not, this goal setting function should be an HR priority.

Second, think about revisiting Jack Welch’s “Four Es and a P” performance appraisal system. His “Es” are Energy, Energize, Execution, and Edge. The “P” is Passion. The five together are a good way to judge whether an individual has commitment to the right things.

Anyway, that’s my thinking on the advisability/feasibility of HR becoming a “commitment coach.” I’d love to hear your thinking. Use the Share the Comments button below.