Madde Willemsen - Competing commitments

6 important questions on Madde Willemsen - Competing commitments

What is the concept of competing commitments, by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey about?

It refers to subconscious goal, either individual or collective, that contradicts a desired change.

What are the 5 steps of making the dynamics of competing commitments visible?

1. What would you like to see changed at work, so that you could be more effective or so that work would be more satisfying?
2. What is your commitment?
3. What are you doing, or not doing, that is keeping your stated commitment from being fully realized?
4. What are your competing commitments?
5. What if you were to exhibit opposite behavior? What outcome of that behavior are you trying to prevent? What is your big assumption about that?

What is John's main commitment?

- Committed to being a team player.
  • Higher grades + faster learning
  • Never study anything twice
  • 100% sure, 100% understanding
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What actions does John take instead of collaborating?

  • Does not collaborate enough.
  • Makes unilateral decisions.
  • Does not take people's input into account.

What are John's competing commitments?

  • Committed to being the one who gets credit.
  • Committed to avoiding frustration or conflict in collaboration.

What are John's big assumptions?

  • Assumes no one will appreciate him if not seen as source of success.
  • Assumes nothing good from being frustrated or in conflict with others.

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