Commitment or Compliance?



You can tell someone to behave or act in a new way, yet even if they do, you might wonder, is this out of compliance or commitment. How will you know? By using these KUBA® stages, you can more accurately assess where someone is on their path to commitment and what they need to move forward. You can also better understand if someone may be truly resisting, or not!   



How Committed are You?



Consider one of the most pressing situations facing us today, COVID-19. The latest change facing many communities, is whether or not to mandate wearing a mask in public. So let me ask you this, how committed are you to wearing a mask?  

Ask this question on your Facebook feed and see what kind of responses you get. Trust me, you don’t even need to ask it amongst my “friends,” as many are more than happy to tell you their points of view. I think if you asked this question to a hundred different people, you’d get a hundred different responses.  



Other than obvious situational differences, like health, age, density of population, etc., why might there be such extreme polarities or differences of opinion? Many complex changes challenge our value systems. Organizations face this dilemma often, especially with any type of cultural change. What may seem obvious to some, is often challenged by others. These challengers are usually labeled as “resistors.”



Resistance?



Are “resistors” really resisting, and even if they are, should they be labeled as such, or could they be right to not “buy-in” so quickly? In most value-based changes, trying to drive a change by just simply saying “because I said so” is not going to work, unless of course it’s an absolute compliance situation. The reality is people change all the time in many facets of life, so the question is, do people really “resist” change or do they sometimes struggle with the process or how a change is implemented?



So, whether it’s wearing a mask during a pandemic, or any change you are experiencing, take a moment to consider: What does it take to build commitment and create a sense of ownership for a change? To better understand how committed you or others may be to a change, consider using the four KUBA® Change Commitment Model Stages.      



KUBA® Change Commitment Model – Stages



 Know: Can describe the change taking place, at a broad level



 Understand: Informed enough to consider change impact on self and organization



 Believe : Enough of a positive perception to make a choice and try out a change 



 Act: Willing to accept change and behave in new ways, effectively and repeatedly







How Might You Apply KUBA®?





The simple and practical KUBA® Change Commitment Model framework has been refined and tested with every kind of change you can think of over the last 20 years.  Regardless of the type of change effort I am working on, KUBA® has been foundational and served me well. I hope it can do the same for you!



How might you apply the KUBA® Change Commitment Model to changes you are facing?



I’d love to hear your thoughts!   Add a comment below or feel free to contact us  to learn more.