What is ownership?
When referring to assets, ownership implies the ability to deny use. If I own a car, I can prevent others from using it. Similarly, if you own the communication budget, you can restrict others from utilizing this budget.
With goals, however, ownership signifies something different: the freedom to control meaningful actions to achieve a desired outcome. For instance, if I am responsible for the sales strategy, I have the liberty to make decisions and take actions to attain the desired sales results.
In this case, ownership does not mean having complete control over the outcome. We all understand that in a complex business environment, one cannot guarantee any specific sales results.
This leads to a deeper understanding of victimhood: It arises from confusing control of outcomes with control of actions.
To foster ownership and reduce victimhood, always ask yourself: Even if I can’t control the outcome, what can I do, regardless of the circumstances, to improve the chances of a positive result.
This brings us to what I call the two faces of ownership: We own fewer assets than we hope, yet own more outcomes than we think.
