Great companies know how best to leverage their talent. They are cognizant that ownership is a key motivator for action. There are two components for creating ownership.
- Buy-in: Attaining buy-in is gaining alignment on the purpose of the work. This is an important first step. Without buy-in, employees could do the work grudgingly. The quality of the results will suffer. The worst case scenario is coercion which is not a culture any business would like to have.
- Accountability: Assigning responsibilities is the easy part. Holding someone accountable for the work doesn’t guarantee result unless the person understands the intent of the work, has the capabilities and the capacity to do so. There needs to be a mutual understanding that the delegation of responsibility is fair and attainable.
Ownership results when an individual sees the purpose of the work and how he could contribute. He feels that he is held accountable for something that he could deliver. Subsequently, actions and behaviours generated exhibit care and commitment. In absence of buy-in and accountability to create ownership, it would be difficult to get exceptional results.
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