Leadership and Ownership

Part of leading a Customer Success team is also about being a good leader. So, from time to time, I will also share some of my learnings and takeaways from my own leadership development. Whether you’re a seasoned manager or you just became a manager for the first time, there will be some gems here for you! You can see the last installment here: Leadership Vision

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As leaders, we each own certain parts of the business. However, to take it to the next level, we need to each have an ownership mentality and foster a culture of ownership within our teams. This is easier said than done as it requires people to leave their egos at the door.

Understanding ownership goes hand in hand with accountability, team efficiency, and communication. With an ownership mindset, we and our teams would not have a “that’s not my job” mentality and would not rush to play the blame game if something were to go awry. In conjunction, we need to make sure that we become owners and also foster an environment where our direct reports can also become owners.

These three articles explore more about what ownership is and how it can manifest itself within us and our teams.

As you peruse these articles, here are some discussion questions for you to think about or pose to your teams!

Discussion/Reflection Questions

1. What does the ownership mindset mean to you and how do you currently see yourself as an owner of your function?
2. How are you currently creating an environment of ownership for your team? Do you feel like you could do more, and if so, how?

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Articles

Ownership Is Leadership: Three Steps To Owning Your Outcomes And Being A Better Leader

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2018/02/22/ownership-is-leadership-three-steps-to-owning-your-outcomes-and-being-a-better-leader

• Quick and easy read on the ownership mindset

Take Ownership of Your Actions by Taking Responsibility

https://hbr.org/2012/08/take-ownership-of-your-actions

• This article wasn’t made specifically for managers, but has some great insights like the two below around the ownership mentality
• — “Fault is backward-looking, and responsibility is forward-looking”
• — “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle”

“Ownership”: see why the concept of ownership must be a part of your company

https://for-managers.com/ownership/

• Explains the difference between accountability and ownership
• Gives steps on how to create a culture of ownership