The Ownership Edge: Igniting Initiative
Creating a work culture that empowers ownership and initiative is more important now than ever. When a leader fails to do this, employees disengage and look to do only what is necessary to get by. This results in time, productivity, and – ultimately - money left on the table. On top of that, it can result in good performers walking out the door. Here are steps you can take as a leader to start building an empowered workforce.
Start with self-restraint
Most managers address a problem by defining what the problem is for the team and then telling them specifically what to do about it. As a team member, the path of least resistance is to go along with what the manager wants. This approach ensures all the ownership and initiative stays with the manager.
For example, let’s say you want to fix a process that’s causing unnecessary work and inefficiencies on your team. Here is an approach you could follow:
Start by describing the impact using recent examples.
Ask the team to define the problem and what success would look like if it was addressed.
Engage them in identifying the solution together.
Finish by getting agreement on timelines and defining expectations.
Even if you already know all the answers, the key is to resist the urge to jump in and solve it. Create space for team members to come forward with what they believe needs to be done.
Be comfortable with silence
If your team is used to you doing all the thinking for them, they may not know how to respond initially. This is how you have conditioned them to engage with you. When you ask your team a question like “What does success look like with _______?” don’t be the next person in the room to talk. Initially, you may have to be comfortable with some awkward silences. You may even have to call on different people to share their thoughts. Don’t take it personally. This new approach is likely outside of their comfort zone so it will take time for them to get used to it.
Be consistent
This is going to take patience as you change your working relationship with your team. You are still engaged while being careful not to do the thinking and problem solving for them. The biggest mistake you can make is to take back control and revert to old way of handling things if you don’t get the response you want right away. For the new approach to pay off in the long term, you will need to be consistent with it in the short term.
Promote confidence
Encourage your team members and let them know that you believe in them. Make sure you recognize specific behaviors that show ownership and initiative on the team. It is critical you reinforce the behaviors you want to continue to see from the team.
It takes patience, time, and energy
Let’s be honest about this. In the short-term, creating a culture of ownership requires more time and energy. It is usually less time consuming to just tell the team what to do rather than work with them to define what needs to be done. However, in the long term, this leads to a dependency relationship in which the team lacks initiative and does not perform at a high level.
By putting in the initial work and being persistent, you can become a leader who motivates employees and creates a sense of ownership. In other words, a leader who gets results.
Learn more about how to develop these essential skills through my Creating a Culture of Ownership program so you can empower your team and achieve remarkable results.
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