Taking Ownership

"That's not my job!" These are not the words a frustrated customer wants to hear while seeking for help from the shop attendant. The customer has no idea what their role is, but the store manager considered him the right person to engage with customers. As the customer’s frustration mounts, they will possibly blurt out "Call your supervisor!" or walk out of the store, never to return. The shop attendant will keep wondering why they never get that promotion. Meanwhile the shop manager is wondering how to fire the attendant for not taking ownership at work!

As I sit through performance appraisal sessions, managers occasionally complain of a talented team member who just won't take ownership of their work. I wondered whether the person understood what taking ownership really means. Performance expectations differ as you climb the corporate ladder. Taking ownership of your work is definitely one quality you need to get work titles with more responsibility and a higher pay.

Can your manager leave a task in your hands with the peace of mind that they can trust you to get it done? Are they confident that you will always come to them with a solution rather than just reporting what went wrong? Taking ownership is believing that getting a task completed is not someone else's responsibility. It's your responsibility and you follow through to its completion. You are expected to take initiative in your work. You are the individual accountable for the quality and efficiency in delivering the work - not your supervisor.

You take ownership of your work when you treat the business you are working for as if it were your own. You think about the customer and understand their needs. You take note of your task in the team assigned the delivery to that customer and the agreed delivery timelines. You then plan to deliver your bit efficiently and help the other team members should they be lagging behind in their tasks. You have an understanding that when the team wins, you win. Your focus is to retain happy customers - happy paying customers sustain the business and in effect, sustain your tenure.

Every business owner seeks out problem solvers in their workforce when shaping the next generation leaders. When you take personal responsibility over your work, you will keep looking for ways to improve on your quality, your delivery turnaround time and remain customer-centric. If you want that promotion to supervisor, ditch that employee-entitlement attitude and run your boss' business as though you owned it! Take ownership even if you don't own it!