When leadership feels more like babysitting than collaboration, there’s a problem.
Too often, COOs and other senior leaders carry the mental weight of every initiative — not because they want to, but because others won’t step up.
You don’t just need team members who do the work. You need leaders who own the outcome.
Here’s how to shift your leadership team from passive executors to proactive owners.
Why Ownership Matters at the Leadership Level
When leaders don’t take full responsibility for their areas, it creates a ripple effect across the org chart. The COO becomes a bottleneck, team initiatives stall, and culture weakens.
On the flip side, a culture of ownership allows:
- Faster decision-making
- Stronger cross-functional alignment
- Clearer accountability and expectations
- Higher engagement and better results
In high-performing companies, leaders don’t wait for permission — they take the lead, solve problems, and align their teams with the company’s vision.
1. Stop Rewarding Firefighting
It’s easy to celebrate the leader who jumps in at the last minute to “save the day.” But if all your praise and recognition goes to the firefighters, you’ll never build a team of planners.
Instead, praise foresight. Highlight the leaders who anticipate problems early, prevent crises, and keep things running smoothly — even if their work isn’t flashy.
Ownership isn’t about drama. It’s about discipline.
2. Clarify What “Ownership” Actually Looks Like
If you want your leaders to take ownership, you need to define it clearly.
Ownership might include:
- Making decisions without escalation
- Taking responsibility for outcomes, not just tasks
- Proactively communicating progress and blockers
- Thinking cross-functionally and anticipating ripple effects
Talk about ownership in your 1:1s. Make it part of your leadership development process. And when someone demonstrates it well, call it out publicly.
3. Shift the Default From “Delegate Up” to “Decide Down”
In many companies, when something is unclear or risky, the default is to escalate up. But in ownership cultures, the default is to decide down — empowering the people closest to the issue to make the call.
This doesn’t mean abandoning accountability. It means creating clarity on:
- What decisions can be made at which levels
- When escalation is appropriate
- How to create a safe environment for smart risk-taking
The COO’s job isn’t to answer every question. It’s to build a system where the right people can answer them without hesitation.
4. Remove Fear of Being Wrong
Many leaders stay passive because they’re afraid of making a mistake. That fear kills initiative.
To create a culture of ownership, normalize learning through action. Coach your leaders through failures instead of punishing them. Celebrate calculated risks that didn’t work — if they were aligned with company values and well thought out.
Ownership grows when people feel trusted, not judged.
5. Model Ownership Yourself
As COO, your behavior sets the tone. If you own your priorities, communicate clearly, take responsibility, and avoid blame-shifting — others will follow.
If you micromanage, defer hard decisions, or constantly second-guess your team, they’ll learn to do the same.
Want a team of owners? Be the first.
Creating a Leadership Culture of Ownership Starts With You
Culture isn’t built in memos — it’s built in conversations, decisions, and the small moments leaders model every day.
If you want to build a proactive, aligned leadership team that drives the business forward — start by raising the bar on what ownership looks like.
Give your leaders clarity. Give them confidence. And hold them accountable to step up.
Want to accelerate leadership growth in your organization?
Invest in your leaders.
Give your leadership team the tools, frameworks, and confidence they need to take full ownership — and drive results at the highest level.
Learn more at https://investinyourleaders.com/?affiliate=mrkt
0 Comments