4 Reasons People Take Ownership That are Easy to Identify
“I’m concerned this one is going to fail,” my predecessor said. He set me up for success, except for one looming project. I was stepping into a new leadership role.
I sweat bullets over that first public event.
My boss’s boss showed up when things kicked off. I think he wanted confirmation they’d hired the right person. All my projects weren’t successful, but thankfully he was smiling at this one.
Reasons to own it:
I took ownership because I cared for myself. Failure reflected on me. I needed to prove something.
Failure is painful to owners.
We find a way to get it done when we own it. We identify with the results when we own it. Success or failure reflects on us when we own it.
People take ownership for their reasons, not yours.
4 reasons people take ownership:
#1. Success is defined.
A person who takes ownership has a clear picture of success. You won’t go all-in until you know what winning looks like.
Ambiguity dilutes passion and limits ownership.
#2. The path forward is clear.
You might not see every step, but you need to see the next steps before you take ownership.
Discuss next steps when giving ownership.
#3. Responsible failure isn’t punished.
Your response to someone’s failure determines their willingness to own the next project. When you punish responsible failure, you teach people that taking ownership isn’t worth it.
Lousy managers figure out who to blame. Really lousy managers choose scapegoats before projects begin.
When something goes wrong, an owner says, “I made a mistake.” Owners aren’t blamers.
Say, “Next time,” in the face of responsible failure.
#4. Success matters.
Sometimes people don’t take ownership because it doesn’t matter to them. You don’t wash a rental car.
People take ownership because they care.
What might leaders do to elevate ownership on their teams?
Interesting. I think a definition of success is a key one that gets missed. In a lot of places, there’s a kind of feeling that everyone knows (or should know) what “success” is, but when you come to it, five people will give you six definitions.
Thanks Mitch. “five people will give you six definitions.” Exactly. One of the best things we can do for ourselves and for others is define success.
“Success” often is, but should not be, defined by a committee
What might leaders do to elevate ownership on their teams? Sometimes its as simple as leading by example, other times you become the example. Share the reality side of what we are trying o improve on and “how we will make better actions”, “they speak louder than words”.
There are times other people have control of the destiny, you just have to see the picture if this fits the application. Often times we are quilty of letting things happen first before taking action, experience teaches us the path to follow that is successful #4, learn the signs and show you care how things happen, and why they need to happen with the direction forward as is discussed above #2..
Thanks Tim. It’s important to understand that other people play a role in our success. The decisions and actions of others matter.
What might leaders do to elevate ownership on their teams?
Establish single-point accountability. Assign each project or goal to one employee.
When you don’t establish single-point accountability, here’s what happens. “Everybody was sure somebody would do it, but nobody did.”
In this context, accountability is not the same as ownership. Ownership is considered to be something that’s positive. Accountability is usually a complicated way to spell “blame”.
Accountability produces clarity of who is responsible for getting the task done.
Ownership relates to the person’s willingness to take on the project or task and get it done.
Accountability is assigned.
Ownership is a decision made by the person assigned the task.
I am reminded of the concept put forward by Jim Collins, namely that if you have disciplined people on your team, they will have disciplined thoughts and will take disciplined actions. As the origin of the word “discipline” is “learning,” it strikes me that those team members that take disciplined actions – in this case, taking ownership of a task – are also the ones that want to learn more about themselves, about the task, and about how they can become better (overall) in the process.
I also think that there is also an element of pride in taking ownership. And I don’t mean haughtiness; but, pure, unadulterated pride in both taking ownership and then executing to accomplish a great result. I am reminded of the commercials that ran on the television sometime in the late 80’s and early 90’s (I think), that showed people putting their name on a small pennant attached to a toothpick and sticking it into their project. The one that sticks in my mind is the hot dog vendor on the street who puts a little pennant with his name on it into the hot dog that he just sold you. Humorous, yes; but, meaningful. He put his name on his project. He took ownership of the result!
I greatly enjoy your daily insights, Dan. Keep ’em up!
#3. Responsible failure isn’t punished is one that definitely caught my eye. Most people don’t make decisions to do things to fail or cause harm or injury. The real teachable moment occurs when I start with, “Help me understand the process, thinking, or reasoning to arrive at the decision to do what we (you) did.” Or, “Help me understand how it is that we got here.”
All too many years ago, a senior manager once told me to “Make a decision, then tell me why. I want to understand how your process and how you think things through.”