This coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has certainly put a lot of companies under pressure to quickly adapt and find new ways to keep the organization alive. One very important skill that must be embedded on any organization that wants agility to adapt and survive this challenging crisis is OWNERSHIP. However, ownership alone does not bring results.
Before hitting hard on ownership, an organization should check employee’s engagement level. And the level of employee’s engagement increases only when companies provides transparent information on what the strategies and next steps are.
How can this be applied?
Well, let´s try the good old analogy technique, and since I´m a huge sports fan and recently watched “The Last Dance” documentary on Netflix I´m going to use the sport of basketball (in case you haven´t seen it, it´s about the 6 NBA championships Chicago bulls won during Michael Jordan era). It´s not exaggerate to say that basketball is a very agile game and details make a big difference, especially during the FINALS – where games are many times decided at the last seconds. If you watched the documentary you´ve noticed that most games were literally decided at the very last second, you also realized how coach Phil Jackson would always ask for a timeout a few seconds before that final buzz.
The team always came out of that conversation very energized and ready to apply what they´ve practiced over and over, which usually was to pass to Michael Jordan so he could take care of that last shoot. I can only think that coach Phil and MJ during those last timeouts, brought to the team strong motives why the team could win, and clearly reinforced the tactics on how they would win. Once the players were back on the basketball court, they were ready to own their responsibilities and make quick decisions. Which they did indeed, 6 NBA championships are the result of that.
The same should be done with businesses if surviving is the objective. Organization core principles – every company and every situation has its sets of them – and missions must be strengthened and remember that every single employee is important to surpass this global economic challenge and support company survival. All leaders must communicate the strategy and tactics clearly with their peers/team, energize them with positive feedback and build the importance of ownership.
How to explain ownership to the team?
I´ve recently read a reference from a book called How to Make a Buck and Still be a Decent Human Being by a CEO named Rick Rose, which he created a 5 bullet points for his employees in order to make it clear his expectation of ownership:
- Is it right for the customer?
- Is it right for our company?
- Is it ethical?
- Is it something for which you´re willing to be accountable for?
- Is it consistent with the company´s belief?
If the answer is YES for all questions, just do it.
Again, when an organization has a trustful process in place and it´s principles and missions are well established, there is no need to complicate with additional approval process, thus giving the company more AGILITY do adapt, survive and grow.
Any comments or thoughts on this, please comment below. Cheers!
DY