Do you truly and always take ownership, ownership of ideas, thoughts, and work products? When I think
of ownership, I often equate it to values and beliefs. If you say or do something, you own it and should believe in it. Ownership is part of your value and belief system. In other words, you always own up to the good, bad, and ugly. Ownership requires a combination of commitment, accountability, proactive behavior, and growth.
So why is there so much excuse-making or whataboutism? When something doesn’t work out, it’s easy to find the reasons or come up with excuses why versus owning it and taking responsibility for it. One of my favorites that you hear often is yes, I missed the deadline, but what about so and so? They missed it too. That’s whataboutism, making a counter-accusation to deflect from yourself. While that may seem like the thing to do in the heat of the moment, it can directly impact your reputation.
Taking ownership of your work can impact your career in three areas; yourself, your team, and your organization.
Why it’s important to your career
- Builds trust in your leaders
- It frees your managers to focus more on strategic goals and bigger-picture issues instead of forcing them to get involved with every minor task and conflict employees may experience.
- Strengthen relationships with your managers and reduces the need for difficult conversations about performance.
Why it’s important to your team
- Builds trust in your team
- Strengthens team morale and positively influences other employees to work harder and feel connected to broader team goals
Why it’s important to your organization
- Happier, more fulfilled, and committed employees
- Low turnover and, therefore, better retention
- High-quality work output
- More idea-sharing and innovation
- Improved culture and team dynamics
Ways you can do to take ownership as a manager
- Take accountability
- Be flexible
- Communicate effectively
- Take initiative
- Be decisive
- Be curious to make sure you are clear on the expected outcomes
- Be autonomous
- Take advantage of learning opportunities
- Set goals for yourself
- Ask for feedback
- Be supportive of other’s ideas and goals
- Be proactive
What will you take ownership of this week? Let me know in the comments.
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