Disagree and commit

We live in a world of inter-subjective realities.  Humans created religions, economic models, monetary systems, government, corporations, and moral values.  None of these things exist in nature, they were created from our imagination and we applied human value to them.  

When a person joins a new company, they will often discover that the company has a set of values.  These values were chosen by the leaders of the company because they want these values to guide the company’s actions.  These values are frequently repeated and made highly visible to keep people aligned.  The company’s values might actually differ from an employee’s own personal values, this leads to some degree of cognitive dissonance.  The employee may disagree with some of the values, but the company doesn’t need them to agree but to commit to it.  

Humans are masters of overcoming cognitive dissonance.  When someone converts from one religion to another, seldom do they buy-in 100%.  There are likely beliefs, values, or rituals they don’t agree with or understand, but they still converted to this new religion and go through th rituals because they’ve committed to doing so.  

Imagine someone immigrating to a new country.  This person might immigrate because they like the way of life, the natural landscape, the employment opportunities, the people or the social benefits.  They might not agree with the taxation system and how that money is spent (cognitive dissonance) but the government still expects them to commit to paying their taxes. 

As a leader, it’s important to recognize the difference between personal emotional comfort vs operational need.  We often want people to agree with our values when it is more imperative that we get people to commit and deliver.