Learning to take ownership of your job

a job you like, if not get out!”

Sometimes, I want to scream this out to the people I deal with. It happens in my own businesses, in the companies I coach, and in my daily interactions as a consumer.

For most of you, learning to take ownership, and educating yourself to do your job well and in time making your job an integral part of your life is what you must aspire for.

Leaders must help their employees with this.

Recently I had to negotiate terms with a client. I had to deal with managers who were known to me. They are really nice people, but hard negotiators.

An agreement was eventually reached out after some tough meetings. I know I walked out a little bruised, but generally satisfied. I am quite sure they felt the same way.

Some time passed and payment became due.

I noticed that unlike previously, there were inexplicable delays in getting my disbursement.

Eventually, after some probing, I get a call and was told that “management” had decided to change the payment terms.

You can imagine my vexation! My team and I had done quite a lot of work on the project, given the required time and energy, been accommodating to their multiple requests and modifications, and when it came to payment time, everything that was agreed upon was just discarded. Unilaterally, I must add.

I wanted to go ballistic at the manager who was delivering the news.

But good customer service ethics and my experience of dealing with large conglomerates stopped me from getting unduly emotional about this.

I have come to conclude that ownership of decisions in large corporations is often somewhat blurred.

It is easy for employees to blame management, or say that their bosses decided differently.

But, what most people don’t realise is that hiding behind their management undermines and devalues their role.

These same employees then get upset with the decision makers because they went out all guns blazing to negotiate and close a deal, only to come back with their tails between their legs to say they cannot deliver on something they promised.

These situations unsettle employees. They will feel let down by their company. In time, as this pattern continues, they become disengaged, disempowered, and will no longer be willing to take ownership.

This is when people, like me, will say to them, “… get a job you like”. Now, who is at fault here; the employer or the employee?

In my experience, empowerment is the magic formula that heals many organisational ills. And, it stems from the decision makers, i.e. the employers.

Most people I know, in nearly all companies, say they want to be empowered.

Leaders, who are committed to ongoing growth, must recognise that employee empowerment is the most strategic method to inspire their teams. It is the enabler that allows those with real knowledge to make decisions about how to best serve the company’s customers.

But, employee empowerment fails because most managers only pay lip service to this notion.

Many think that it’s just about asking people what they think about in a meeting. Or, allowing your team to plan a company outing. This is not empowerment!

Employee empowerment is a philosophy or strategy that facilitates people to make decisions about how to do their jobs effectively.

Establish boundaries so that in your absence decisions can be made my members of your team, give them clear margins on the decisions they can make without your permission or oversight, and define what empowerment means to you and to them.

Then, guard against the biggest problem in management. Having given clear and definitive limits on decision-making, do not micro-manage the work of your team.

Understand that if you feel compelled to interfere, it’s because you don’t trust your team.

If you keep meddling, your team will realise this, and either sneakily make decisions and conceal them from you, or they will keep coming back to you for everything.

Give your team members a framework to operate.

When you give your team challenging opportunities and goals to aim for, you also need to offer structure on how you will measure their success.

Your team will need you to give them direction on how you expect them to practise empowerment.

As employers and managers, one of your highest value tasks is to train your team about what empowerment actually means.

You have to think about empowerment, not as something you confer on your people, but instead a strategy to help them develop their skills, and decisionmaking competency.

Competent and capable people will best serve your company.

And, empowerment gets you the employee “who likes their job”.

I take responsibility for my people in my companies. Do you?

You have to think about empowerment, not as something you confer on your people, but instead a strategy to help them develop their skills, and decisionmaking competency.