Army Leadership Compliance and Commitment

LEADS OTHERS
7-3. Former Army Chief of Staff Creighton W. Abrams once said,

The Army is people; its readiness to fight depends upon the readiness of its people,
individually and as units. We improve our readiness and foster a ready state of mind by
training, motivating and supporting our people, and by giving them a sense of
participation in the Army’s important endeavors.

7-4. All of the Army’s core leader competencies, especially leading others, involve influence. Army leaders can draw on a variety of techniques to influence others. These range from obtaining compliance to building a commitment to achieve. Compliance is the act of conforming to a specific requirement or demand. Commitment is willing dedication or allegiance to a cause or organization. Resistance is the opposite of compliance and commitment. There are many techniques for influencing others to comply or commit, and leaders can use one or more of them to fit to the specifics of any situation.

COMPLIANCE AND COMMITMENT
7-5. Compliance-focused influence is based primarily on the leader’s authority. Giving a direct order to a follower is one approach to obtain compliance during a task. Compliance is appropriate for short-term, immediate requirements and for situations where little risk can be tolerated. Compliance techniques are also appropriate for leaders to use with others who are relatively unfamiliar with their tasks or unwilling or
unable to commit fully to the request. If something needs to be done with little time for delay, and there is not a great need for a subordinate to understand why the request is made, then compliance is an acceptable approach. Compliance-focused influence is not particularly effective when a leader’s greatest aim is to create initiative and high esteem within the team.

7-6. Commitment-focused influence generally produces longer lasting and broader effects. Whereas compliance only changes a follower’s behavior, commitment reaches deeper—changing attitudes and beliefs, as well as behavior. For example, when a leader builds responsibility among followers, they will likely demonstrate more initiative, personal involvement, and creativity. Commitment grows from an individual’s desire to gain a sense of control and develop self-worth by contributing to the organization.
Depending on the objective of the influence, leaders can strengthen commitment by reinforcing followers’
identification with the Nation (loyalty), the Army (professionalism), the unit or organization (selfless
service), the leadership in a unit (respect), and to the job (duty).