The power of creating an ownership culture in your small business
Last week, I shared my “one out of ten” approach to creating lasting change in your team members (and yourself). What I didn’t share then is that this approach was implemented in a “culture of ownership.”
That was the foundational element that made the process work and one of the reasons it was so effective.
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What I mean by “ownership”.
My thinking was that every person on the team had an area of the business they were responsible for.
And each area was critical to the team’s overall success.
So I went further than saying they were responsible for that area.
I said they were business owners. They owned the delivery and results for their domain, for their area of expertise.
You could sense a tangible shift in the room when I announced this. “You own the business you’re in.”
I get it. This can sound like “just words.” But it isn’t.
It’s powerful stuff.
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Words matter.
When you let someone own their area of the business it shows that you trust them.
You esteem them. You hold them in high regard and respect who they are and what they’re capable of.
This belief gets transmitted, especially if they’re lacking it in themselves. It creates a sense of pride in themselves and their work.
It shifts how they perceive themselves. How they sit (or stand), their confidence, their accountability, how they think.
As a business owner, they’ll take initiative, try to solve problems, bring new ideas, and push themselves to deliver at a higher level.
Everyone wins.
I happened to catch the latest episode of The goop Podcast with guest Beatrice Dixon, founder of Honey Pot. In it, she told Gwyneth Paltrow:
“One of my superpowers is I really trust my team… Having people that actually treat this like it’s theirs is important… I CEO from a place of trust because I have to.”
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