Building a Culture of Ownership in the Organization

Warren Buffett said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” Many organizations struggle to create a memorable and magnetic workplace culture, and it’s no wonder. Culture is tricky to define, and takes time and effort to build.

A true “ownership culture” is one where employees feel a substantial, personal stake in the company's performance. It creates a situation in which behavior is guided more by values than by rules; even when “nobody is watching,” people treat each spending decision as if they were, in fact, the owner.

What does it mean to take ownership at work?

We take ownership when we believe that taking action is not someone else’s responsibility. You, as an individual, are accountable for the quality and timeliness of an outcome, even when you’re working with others. You care about the outcome the same way you would care as an owner of the organization.

What tools or venues are you providing employees so that they can think and act like entrepreneurs?

1.   Having clearly defined values that employees “buy into” is the foundation of an engaged organization.

2.    Embrace your shared values.

3.   Communicate an employees roles and responsibilities clearly

4.   Let the employees how they contribute to the succeess of the organization

5.    Support team members’ freedom and responsibility.

6.   Listen to employees and communicate in a transparent manner

7.   Build an environment of trust  where employees can open up to share their ideas as well as mistakes

8.   Provide employee feedback and coaching in real time.

9.   Use positive reinforcement.

10. Support entrepreneurial thinking.

The best advice I can give to anyone starting their career, or starting their company, is to find something that drives you to work as hard as you can, and still enjoy it. Stay humble, but don’t be afraid to take a risk and own it. As a business owner, if you want people to take ownership with you, treat them like owners. That’s how you get where you want to go.

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