Blog: Six values for life and workplace – Ownership
“We are very aware of our actions, attitudes and behavior towards ourselves and each other. We act with responsibility and accountability to self and others.”
Ownership means a feeling that something is yours. A sense of possession is ownership. In its most used traditional sense, it means feeling that some material object is yours. In a legal sense it is about possessing a title to something non withstanding the actual state of possession. In the emotional, mental and spiritual sense ownership is a very deep and real feeling of accountability. In that realm it has no bearing to physical possession or legal possession.
For a successful personal and professional life, it is important to function with a sense of ownership and do your best to inculcate the same in others around you – family, friends, peers and employees. Ownership happens when you are able to give someone the confidence that you can be trusted to work for achieving the right and best outcome possible. It is a display of accountability toward the quality, scale and outcome of actions.
Ownership operates at three levels which are accountability in attitude, behavior and finally action. Only when all these three align towards desired outcomes we feel inspired and confident and only then are we effective in our roles.
Responsibility vs Ownership
A feeling of ownership might just sound similar to being responsible. But ownership is a more refined feeling than responsibility. Responsibility has at its core a feeling of duty and obligation. Both of which are motivated by outside factors or actions. When you feel responsible for something it is motivated by an attitude ‘lest something goes wrong’ ‘lest I fail in the eyes of others or myself’. However, a sense of ownership springs from one’s own depths of willing acceptance. It is about the feeling that ‘This is mine to do, outside factors, reasons, fears, agendas and apprehensions are immaterial, what is important is to operate from the highest of personal standards and aim for best outcomes.’ Hence, it is far more important and impactful to have a feeling of ownership than a feeling of responsibility. To be a leader one has to move from a sense of responsibility to a sense of ownership.
Grounds to cover to develop or foster a sense of ownership
Having a clear idea of what the initial reason was that motivated you to take up the job or endeavor- Keeping your eye on the goal keeps the fire alive and fosters a sense of ownership. The importance a certain endeavor has in your mind and the minds of all involved needs constant reiteration. It is that reiteration of the ‘why’ that keeps the well of motivation eternally full.
Learning to be proactive and responsive rather than reactive and random – Taking time to respond, planning ahead and preparing for anticipated tasks and problems helps you translate the attitude of ownership to a behavior and action of ownership.
Openness to receiving feedback and courage to offer the same – Whatever be your role, if there is courage of conviction it needs expression as well. Feedback helps bring about a marked amount of change in how you go about pursuing a further course of action.
Giving credit and appreciation where it is due – Trying to not make everything about oneself is not ownership. It is not about trying to control outcomes either. Passing the credit over to its rightful owner helps develop trust in your leadership. It builds not just confidence and trust, but helps build the idea of ownership in people who help you build your success stories.
Operating from a place of self-awareness – Being aware of your disadvantages and your character flaws helps you take measures to rectify. The first level of accountability and ownership is towards oneself and working from a place of awareness is the way to fulfill the standards you have for yourself.
Questioning yourself – Ruthless introspection is required to dissect your true motives in carrying on with a certain kind of attitude, behavior and action. The question that needs to be asked is this, ‘Is what you do motivated by ulterior gains you expect, or subtle manipulations and perception management? Or is your motivation directed at doing a great job for the impartial benefit of all the stakeholders involved?’ The answer you get would tell you where you stand!
Thinking ahead – Being a few steps ahead in your plans for the future gives more reaction time in cases of surprises that come your way. It gives a buffer zone which lets you respond to the situation rather than react to it.
Having uniformly aligned goals and a common definition of what success is – In family as well as professional life, a harmonious functioning and sense of ownership is possible only if all stakeholders involved are aligned to the idea and goals in the same manner. There should be a unanimous view on what is the definition of success in the endeavor undertaken
Practicing active listening – Most of us listen to answer and not listen to understand. In active listening you listen so that you hear what is being said in entirety, comprehend it and act on it after that. This helps in making well weighed in, well thought out actions that are the foundation of a feeling of ownership
Avoiding interference and micromanagement – Any responsibility given to someone must be with enough independence to execute it. If there is no space for decision making or creativity to bloom, it is difficult for accountability and ownership to bloom. Very narrow definitions and being constricted for space in the area of operation makes productivity and ownership impossible. Guidelines of operation should be broad enough to just give direction and not intended to micromanage.
Soft skills are important for you in both personal and professional life. They are an important component in your success and how far you would go in life. This is equally applicable for your team of employees as well. If you are looking for any soft skill coaching or mentoring for your team or for yourself do write to us at harish@harishrao.world to know how we can help you with it. We understand the difference the right mentoring and training can make to a person’s productivity. We would love to work with you on this or any other business coaching needs you may have!