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.