People develop commitment toward what they believe they can do well. Neither people nor groups like to fail. They will attempt to avoid things they think they cannot do. If managers want commitment they should make sure that employees have the ability and willingness to be successful in their jobs. There are two elements that managers should address in building employee competence (Olalla and Echeverria 1996). First they should ensure that their employees have the knowledge, skills, and experience to perform their assigned tasks, and they should ensure that their employees have the confidence to perform their assigned tasks.
My work with the government in the past has convinced me that managers do not always place improving the competencies of their subordinates high on their list of priorities and responsibilities. Experience has shown me that many leaders and managers object to the idea that they are responsible for developing employees. I have heard such things as; "It's their responsibility to develop themselves, no one made it easy for me, so why should it be easy for them."" No one can seriously quarrel with the idea that individuals have final responsibility to develop themselves, but to not see the development of people as a fundamental management responsibility is shortsighted and foolish (McNerney 1996). Gellerman (1992) states that each of us feels a great deal more committed and willing to do our best when we are tasked with jobs that we know we can do well or that we know we can learn to do well. Gellerman also states that managers who help employees to increase their knowledge, skill, and experience also are building employee commitment - the key to sustained, superior performance (p. 130).
Influence is the third part of commitment. Employees do not perform nearly as well when they are consistently denied any input in their jobs yet are expected to adhere to the decisions of their leaders without objection.
