Ownership

Over the last week, we have been talking a lot about the concept of Ownership on my team.  Ironically, it is a concept that has come up in marketing teams in my last three jobs.  As I sit here after hours, I wonder why this is a consistent theme in my teams and how universal it is to many of you/us. 

It is such a corporate buzz word it is worth taking a step back to think more about about what it means and ultimately what we all mean when we say.."you need to take ownership in this project" or "thanks for taking ownership in this" or "one of your core strengths is the ownership you take in your work".  In looking up the word ownership on wikipedia, it talks about about property ownership, either solo or joint.  A pretty literal definition.

So how does this relate to work, to teams, to our lives beyond work.  Ownership at work is much like property ownership...it is about taking control.  Putting your efforts into working on what you can control, and leading a project/team/task towards a goal.  Just like with property, it can be shared or it can be solo.  The best results seem to come when that ownership is shared on a project...putting multiple people at the table to accomplish the work at hand all with a sense of ownership in the outcome.

So how do you as a leader, help build ownership within a team?  When it comes down to it, it is emotional.  I like this article because it goes to the root of that.  It helps with some practical tips on building ownership.  I think the most important learning that I have had in my time trying to help teams build ownership is that you can't just tell people to "take ownership."  They have to feel it, believe in it, understand why doing so will help them succeed in their own goals.  I love the exercise of going back to thinking about ownership in a practical way.  To have your team think of three things that they are proud to own (think a car, a house, a new pair of amazing shoes!), have them think about given this ownership how they treat those things, and have them translate this to work. 

It seems like the leadership challenge will be constant and persistent in my career...but totally worth it.  Enabling teams to help themselves own or want to own things means helping people succeed.  This makes it personal...witnessing someone learn this at work and translate it to their personal life is pretty amazing.  I have seen it help people take control of their life versus letting their life control them.

So...the idea tonight, the spark....what have you done to help people own something in work or in life?  You may be doing them and yourself a great favor.

State of the Union

I am sitting here listening to the "State of the Union" from President Obama.  I love this time of year.  Between December and January, I always find it is a good time for reflection and a good time to think forward about the year ahead.  In theory the "State of the Union" address from our president is that moment for the country as well.

What listening to this really makes me think is about the line between reality/actions and words.  I feel like every politician straddles this line so frequently that they don't actually know where the reality lies.  Republican, democrat, independent...it all feels the same.   So what is strength in this and what is the risk?  Both parts exist.  Just as much as this is true in politics, I see this in my work life every day.  The strength:  Humans are emotional being...we want to be motivated by words, we want to believe, we want to feel connected to some greater good.  The words become such a critical part of making those emotional strings get tugged.  The weakness:  Humans are emotional beings...we believe what we hear, we often believe what we want to hear, sometimes facts get lost, sometimes logic and skepticism don't get applied, words make us believe things are easier than is true. 

The perpetual optimist in me comes down on the positive side of this.  That no matter what strengths or weaknesses come out of the oratory within a "State of the Union" or in a CEOs quarterly speech to his employees or in a team leaders motivational call to action to their team....good things happen to those who work to do the right thing; who keep people and their hopes, desires and feelings at the center of what they do; who are honest with themselves and others; and who strive to work to make things better in the way they feel best. 

So, the "spark" for me tonight....not that the "State of the Union" is strong, but that when you do the right thing, use your brain and your heart, anyone can influence change in a positive way. 

The Beginning

You must start somewhere.  How many times have we heard that, from parents, from teachers and professors, from your boss, and even from yourself.  I have been working out in my mind how I peel off time in my busy life to start my blog and I just finally have come around to this colloquialism as my moto for the evening. 

What will you find in my blog?  It will be thoughts from me about how the simplest idea, thought or concept can start a series of events that leads to great things.  You never know how that idea, thought or concept can influence your own thinking either now or later, and how it can influence others around you.  I call it the "spark".  What is fun to watch, observe, think and speculate about is the "light it becomes" or where the idea, thought or concept goes from here.

So, I will write about random ideas, random thoughts and random concepts in hopes that they may help to spark something in me, you and those around us that make great things happen.

And so it begins...