A challenge in too many organizations is that teams and leaders often seek agreement instead of commitment.

You probably know what I'm talking about.

Agreement happens when people sit in meetings, nod their heads, and then afterwards either fail to take action or deliver on time.

Commitment, on the other hand, occurs when people take responsibility and then follow through to completion.

Agreement results in head nods. Commitment results in action.

Is your team stuck in seeking agreement instead of commitment?

Principle 1: Do not avoid the difficult conversations. You are just doing a disservice to your team member, the team as a whole, and the organization. And, you are losing credibility in the eyes of others on the team because they see you avoiding the conversation.

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Principle 2: Maintain or enhance your team member’s self –esteem. Everything we do as leaders can be done in such as way as to not marginalize our people.

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I often hear leaders say "I want my people to contribute more in our team meetings."

What most leaders don't realize is that limited conversation is often the result of their individual behaviors. For example, I recently attended a client's team meeting and noticed that he would ramble on for several minutes at a time and then ask "any questions?" and without hesitation begin talking again.

And, he didn't even know he was doing it.

Want to generate more conversation in your meetings?

Try these three ideas.

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Is your team functioning at its highest level of potential?

Here are 8 questions to help you decide:

The first challenge that new teams often face is a lack of alignment. Usually happens when goals aren’t clear and common, and when there is ambiguity of roles and responsibilities. As a result team members quickly get siloed in their own agendas and egos instead of being focused on overall team results.

In Part 1 of this post I mentioned that collaboration trumps time management...every time. In others words, if you want to do things faster and better, instead of looking toward time management techniques to make 5% or 10% improvements, figure out how to work more effectively with others - on your team, across departments, and within the broader organization. For collaboration to work, relationships must be focused on open communication. How do you create open communication?

The best leaders spend up to 20% of their time coaching their direct reports.

It's a responsibility that leaders all too often overlook as they get caught up in pressing matters, but nothing can be more important to the health and future of an organization.

Coaching others not only helps develop their skills, it frees leaders to focus on more strategic initiatives as their junior leaders develop. It also builds the bench strength of an organization to ensure a competitive advantage in years to come.

Collaboration trumps time management...every time.

We often seek to do things faster and better and as a result look for "time management" techniques for the answer.

The problem is that time management often results in us asking the wrong question - "How do we do what we are currently doing more efficiently?"

Instead...focus on working more effectively with others and you'll find yourself answering these types of questions:

When people don't communicate what they need, it results in a lose-lose for themselves and others around them.

I recently experienced this in my personal life. I'd been traveling (mostly for fun and personal time off) several weeks in a row and my wife and I were invited on an out-of-town trip to the mountains with friends. I immediately said yes, because spending time with friends and family is one of my core guiding principles.