PART1

WINNING
INTELLECTUAL
COMMITMENT

A LEADER’S ABILITY TO WIN INTELLECTUAL COMMITMENT DEpends on her facility at convincing others to support a purpose because that purpose is intellectually appealing—it is a good idea. Intellectually committed people act upon the purpose because they are logically convinced of its value. The use of the term intellectual to describe this form of commitment does not mean solely rational analysis, but rather the entire spectrum of intellectual activity: creativity, imagination, reflection, and so forth. It includes both the divergent forms of thinking, such as brainstorming and other activities intended to fire our minds, and the convergent forms such as synthesis.

There are four leadership competencies involved in winning intellectual commitment: insight, vision, storytelling, and mobilizing the energy of others. The first two competencies—insight and vision—are preconditions that enable a leader to engage intellectually with followers. The vehicle for engagement is the leader’s “story.” The telling of the story then provides intellectual energy that can be mobilized and converted into action. This process is shown in Figure Part 1-1.

Figure Part 1-1. The process of winning intellectual commitment.

Intellectual commitment is the kind of commitment that is most often sought by leaders, particularly in organizations where intellect is highly prized. Although it is essential for leaders who want to win high levels of commitment to seek intellectual commitment, this kind of commitment alone is not enough to produce significant and sustainable change.