Clarity for commitment

Getting buy-in is the first part of commitment. Just because everyone is on board with the decision, don't assume it will be delivered. I can't tell you how many leaders say, "We had a meeting on this, why hasn't it been done? 

They failed on the second stage of commitment - clarity.

Leaders are so relieved that they have reached alignment and buy-in that they thank everyone and let them leave with a huge sigh of relief. When they meet up again and ask for progress updates, members look around the room waiting for someone to speak. John thought Ed was going to set up a meeting. Ed was waiting for an email to kick of the initiative. Laura had already done her part and was waiting for the nod from Grant before she moved forward. Grant even in the meeting.

It is all too common and most people don't even realise it is a dysfunction of their team. It's like we have an agreement then hope miraculously that everyone springs into action and through some kind of mind reading understand who is doing what.

The solution

This really is the simplest solution. At the end of every meeting or decision point, the leader goes round the room and asks every member to share what they think has been agreed, and what they are doing and by when. This quick round the room approach can take just 5 minutes and allows members to check clarity, note actions and identified who is accountable for what. The leader writes it on a whiteboard and captures the actions. The team can quickly spot repetition, gaps, dependencies that clash or areas that need more work. You can take a screen shot, photo or note take to record and circulate the output to the team.

So at the end of every meeting everyone should have a record of:

Who is doing what, by when, and why?

The next bit...

Agree the communication channels. Agree how this will be communicated to stakeholders, interested parties etc. When, who will it come from, what are the key messages and what medium?

Why is this important? Again, clarity. If Laura leaves the meeting and sends an email, but Ed waits until his next team meeting to communicate, mixed messages are already circulating around your business. This creates gossip, mistrust, and fear. Not a good foundation to drive results. 

The format of the communication depends on the gravity of the message. Some messages are simple updates via email. Others may need to be delivered face to face, others might require a communication plan with clear question and answer sheets or follow up information.

As a team get clear on when the communication will happen, agree the process and format and hold all members accountable for doing their part.