3 ways in which you can build ownership in your organisation

Every leader faces the challenge of wanting to build strong ownership throughout their organisation. So, you are not alone. 

Let’s take a quick look at why it is so challenging to build ownership in an organisation. The most important aspect to note is that while responsibility and accountability are put on an employee by the organisation (through tools such as job descriptions, KRAs, etc), ownership has to come from within the employee towards the organisation (and hence cannot be forced). 

The best way to build ownership in your organisation is to create the right environment that supports taking ownership, even if that means failure sometimes. If your employees feel that ownership is a value that is respected and celebrated, they will take on more. The best news is that if your employees take ownership of their work, they will also be ready to learn from their mistakes. That in a nutshell is what every leader wants. 

So, here are 3 things you can do to create the right environment in your organisation: 

1. Re-look at your organisation values. Ask yourself - do the values encourage ownership? 

2. Run regular townhalls / all-hands that celebrate ownership. Real-world examples help your employees understand what ownership means. 

3. Seek and take on board ideas from all levels in the organisation. Make it inclusive, because everyone has ideas to improve their organisation.