All individuals by nature will always prefer to do the bare minimum, rather than having to go that extra mile to get things done in a better as well as more efficient manner.
However, in companies it is of paramount importance for employees to have an ownership mentality so that they are able to do their very best and not merely the bare minimum.
Here is a comprehensive list of some tips to create an ownership mentality within your team so that your company can gain great success.
Strategies for Creating an Ownership Mentality in Team:
1. Delegate work properly:
In order to breeding ownership mentality among the team you are in charge of, you should delegate the work in a proper manner. It is up to you to try and gauge who is the most capable among the team and try and inculcate this attitude of ownership in him or her.
This is an attitude that needs to be developed in all the employees of the company so that everyone gives their one hundred percent in whatever task is thrown their way, for the betterment of the company.
2. Try and deduce which employees have best leadership skills:
Psychologically speaking a person’s leadership ability is almost synonymous with whether or not he has an ownership mentality. A leader tries to make everything happen well so that his team as well as he might shine.
Similarly, in the case of a person with an ownership mentality, they try to do their best at all times so that the name of the company might shine. It is for this reason that companies are always on the lookout for individuals with leadership skills who have a fighting spirit within them.
3. Make each person accountable for his or her own work:
Accountability is one of the best ways to harbor a mentality of ownership among employees. Once the work is delegated, the leader should ensure that each person understands that if he does not do that aspect of the work then it is going to remain undone.
Being in a team does not mean that everyone looks into everything it just implies that everyone is given one aspect of the work to look into and it is up to him to get it done in time and to perfection.
4. Have a positive work environment:
Having healthy competition or even workplace politics is something that can really help in harboring an attitude of ownership among the various employees, where all the employees work as a comprehensive unit for the betterment of the company.
However if there is negative workplace politics as well as an oppressive work environment, then what happens is that rather than working for the betterment of the company everyone is drawn towards their own selfish motives.
5. Give employees incentives to work better:
One of the best ways to encourage this ownership mentality is to offer the employees and team members incentives to work better. This incentive does not have to be very big but it can be in any form, like that of a coupon, a gift, a bonus or even a promotion.
Things like this which employees take seriously and then only do they begin to really pull their socks up. If a company is not willing to offer incentives for exceptional work then why will employees try to go out of their way to go that extra mile?
6. Have a definite plan of action:
As a team leader, you should always have a definite plan of action, if not then in the time to come things can really get out of hand. Your plan of action should involve what project you will delegate to whom, what incentives you will offer to employees who give their one hundred percent as well as who has the most leaderships to begin with.
If you are someone who is not one step ahead of the rest, then it will certainly not be easy breeding this attitude of ownership among the subordinates.
7. Positive reinforcement for when someone takes intuitive:
Ownership mentality is a mindset that cannot possibly be inculcated in a day or two. Rather it is something which is developed on over a period of time. Positive reinforcement is psychologically proven to better the quality of work which is delivered by an individual.
If you keep giving a person who performs well positive reinforcement, then chances are that over time he or she will develop this ownership mentality and start to think of what to do to take the company ahead. It may take some time but having such a mentality is vital.
8. Lead the team by example:
You as the leader should ensure that at all times you lead by example.
Many people have the wrong mindset that if I can do less work and get the same amount of salary as someone who is doing a lot more work than me, then this is the path that I am surely going to take.
However, as the leader, you should exemplify the ownership mentality constantly reassuring the employees that hard work now will bear rich dividends in the future and say that this is something you have seen for yourself.
9. Have high expectations and share the expectations with your team members:
Having belief in someone really helps in boosting the confidence of that individual, so much so that he feels that he should not do the task badly, else he might end up letting you down.
Once you have to show the genuine expectations from each and every team member then what you are doing is automatically encouraging this ownership mentality within them. If you do not convince them that you have faith in them, then chances are they will not have that drive to better their performance.
10. Take into account the teams thoughts and ideas:
This is an indirect but effective way to harbor the ownership mentality among your team members. Once you take into account all the ideas, as well as thoughts which they put forward, as well as commend them for doing so then what you are doing, is silently communicating to them that what they say matter to you.
If you are constantly turning a deaf ear to their words and forcing your ideas upon them at all times, then how are they to feel like they have ‘ownership’ over what they are doing?
11. Keep asking impactful questions:
A leader has a great role in bringing about an ownership mentality among the workforce. If he does not do what is required of him then chances are that the employees too will take a casual attitude towards their work.
A great way to keep employees on their toes and to encourage them to have complete knowledge about what they do is to constantly ask them questions, in an unobtrusive manner.
For Example, your question may be ‘So how do you think we should handle this situation?’
12. Make everyone feel like an important and equal part of the team:
It is not until employees feel like an integral part of the team will they behave to have such an attitude. It is the job of the senior or the group leader to ensure that everyone feels like an important and equal part of the team where even his or her voice will be heard when decisions are being made.
The employees feel important will they be able to have such an attitude. Feeling important is in fact the first step towards having an ownership mentality.
13. Let them struggle a little:
Many a time employees run to their seniors to bail them out of trouble. Sometimes it is alright for the boss to bail you out or to give you a solution to this problem.
However one of the best ways to harbor an ownership mentality among the workers is by letting them come up with solutions to problems on their very own.
14. Let them feel like you trust their knowledge and expertise:
Trusting your employees goes a long way and it silently communicates to them that no matter what, you trust them and know that they have the interests of the company at heart.
So if you openly show that you do trust and have faith in them then at all times they will try their best to not let you down.
15. Do not make employees run everything by you:
An ownership mentality can never be brought about if you constantly make the employees run even the smallest of decisions by you. Give them the freedom to take decisions on their own. Show that you trust them to do what is best for the company.
Big decisions too can be taken unanimously by all employees and bosses rather than by the board of directors alone.
Final Words:
So these are some of the chief tips to help bring about an ownership mentality among your workers. Your aim should always be to change the attitude of the employees from ‘That’s not in my job description’ to ‘I will do it for the betterment of the company’.
This is an attitude where they feel like an integral part of the company and they know that they have some level of collective responsibility when it comes to keeping the company banner flying higher than ever.
