Leadership is not for a select few people at the top of the organization; a healthy Organization has leaders at every level.
I constantly hear supervisors gripe about their employees’ lack of ownership in their work and projects. However, the same supervisors do not realize that they take actions that take ownership away from their people.
Read about leading with intent.
Hoping people take ownership is not a plan.
Leaders of healthy organizations implement systems and mechanisms that eliminate mechanisms that inhibit a sense of ownership.
Top-down systems rob people of their sense of ownership, so the more you can do to eliminate them, the better. I am not talking about monitoring data and results, as these should make the invisible visible.
The systems I am speaking about involve senior management determining what their subordinates should be doing and then holding them accountable.
In my experience, people do their best work when they are accountable to themselves and their teammates.
Read more about accountability.
When it comes to processes, adherence to the process frequently becomes the objective, as opposed to achieving the goal that the process was put in place.v
It drives people crazy when the process becomes the outcome.
W. Edward Deming, who explored the principle of Total Quality Leadership, said that systems to monitor efficiency improved efficiency. However, processes that monitored the process made the organization inefficient.
Monitoring processes, or how employees do their jobs, sends the message that we do not trust you.
And in the end, it drives employees away from taking ‘ownership.’
You will drive ownership if you are clear about your intent and what employees are not allowed to do when carrying out your plan.
Consider these questions:
How are you underutilizing the ideas, creativity, and passions of your mid-level managers, who are responsible for their departments’ results?
Which monitoring systems can you hand over to mid-level managers and department heads?
What are the top-down monitoring systems in your organization? And how can you eliminate them?
What are the Four levels of Accountability Systems?
Level 1 – Chaos: People are not told what they are accountable for and therefore don’t do their jobs
Level 2 – Inefficient: People are told what they are accountable for but don’t do their jobs because of overwork or focus on the wrong things. This is most inefficient because resources are invested in monitoring, not getting work done.
Level 3 – Compliance: People understand what they are responsible for and do their work because there are systems to hold people accountable. People often feel forced to do their jobs. This is where most organizations are and work towards, but this is top-down leadership.
Level 4 – Healthy: People are not told what to do because they have figured it out independently. They also hold themselves and their peers accountable for results with a minimum number of monitoring systems. This is a highly engaged, energized, and healthy organization where people have committed and ownership of their work.
In traditional top-down organizations, accountability processes say that you, the employee, cannot hold yourself accountable for your work; therefore, your boss must do it for you.
In a healthy organization, people hold themselves and their peers accountable for their performance.
Read about Healthy organizations.
Leaders in a healthy organization do not hold employees accountable; they help them hold themselves accountable.
How powerful would it be if people felt safe enough to ask others, ‘Can you help me stay on track.’
This would inspire accountability and efficiency, creativity and energy.
