{"id":18481,"date":"2022-10-13T09:05:29","date_gmt":"2022-10-13T06:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/?p=18481"},"modified":"2025-01-29T10:09:12","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T08:09:12","slug":"taking-ownership-at-work-create-autonomous-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/taking-ownership-at-work-create-autonomous-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking ownership at work: How to create strong, autonomous teams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taking ownership at work may not be the first thing on your list of priorities for employee development. When you think about the skills and abilities you want your team members to have, you likely imagine hard skills like coding or sales techniques, or even relevant soft skills like communication and teamwork.<\/p>\n

However, a sense of ownership can have a huge impact on employee performance<\/strong>, and it\u2019s relevant across various roles, seniority levels, and industries.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at why this mindset is so important and how you can help your employees take initiative and increase accountability.<\/p>\n

What is taking ownership at work, and why does it matter?<\/h2>\n

Ownership means employees treat your company, and your resources, as if they were their own. They feel greater responsibility for outcomes, so they take more initiative.<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean that employees have the authority to make and enforce company decisions. Rather, it means they speak up about concerns<\/strong> to those who do have the authority. This mentality leads employees to act in the best interest of the company and their team, taking accountability<\/strong> for their actions and following through on commitments.<\/p>\n

Henrik Kniberg explains in “Squads, Scrums and Spotify,”<\/a><\/strong> on TalentLMS’s podcast Keep it Simple, that creating autonomous teams needs faith and courage. Leaders should trust their teams to navigate each path and not just hand them a task. They should allow teams to grow, plus encourage them to reach success on their own.<\/p>\n

\"Taking<\/a><\/p>\n

What ownership looks like<\/h3>\n

Consider a common workplace scenario: something unexpected comes up in a project\u2019s scope. Say an employee discovers that a new product release leaves out a key feature that management had earmarked for the next version. However, any changes at this point will put the deadline at risk.<\/p>\n

Since they\u2019re evaluated on finishing on time and on spec, many employees might feel justified in moving forward without saying anything.<\/p>\n

An employee with an ownership mindset, though, considers the bigger picture. \u201cI know this might put the deadline at risk,\u201d<\/em> they think. \u201cBut it\u2019ll cost us a lot of time down the road if we have to rework the product later to include this feature.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

They bring up the concern to their manager with a proposal to rework the project timeline and get the product right the first time. This employee\u2019s actions will not only save time in the long run, but it will also spare customers a lot of frustration.<\/p>\n

More examples of taking ownership at work<\/h3>\n

There are plenty of instances where accountability and ownership matter in the day-to-day operations of your organization.<\/p>\n

For instance, consider the implications when employees:<\/p>\n