Empowering Employees Through A Sense Of Ownership

Employees who feel they have a stake in the company will work harder.

SPONSORED 12:12PM • 12/21/15

In a post on Smart Blogs in Leadership, author Julie Winkle Giulioni commented on a conference she was attending where security was stringently checking for badges. She pulled the conference staffers aside and asked if they were doing this as an extra level of security or if it was one of their daily tasks. The conference representative replied they had not seen any warning signs of danger, but felt comfortable that this was the proper way to do things.

Giulioni pondered the thought of employees going above and beyond. ; She thought that in our technological age it was fascinating to see this method.

“We find ourselves in an era when management and leadership science can offer nearly unlimited performance metrics to monitor, processes to follow, and productivity levers to pull — all in support of organizational results,” she said. “But, perhaps it’s time for leaders to return to the basics and ask themselves, ‘How much ownership do my employees really feel for their work?’”

She went on to say that employees who feel a sense of ownership will tap into a level of empowerment that will have them perform better at their jobs. Giulioni laid out a few ways that owners can help employees unlock their pure talent.

• Connecting their contributions to the team: When an employee understands how their work is part of the puzzle, they will understand their value and it will give them a drive to go above and beyond.

• Provide appropriate tools to help succeed: Businesses who do not have the proper training materials or outdated protocols may be stunting an employee's growth. Having up-to-date tools for employees to circumvent this issue can help.

• Provide structure, proper rules and parameters: Giving an employee a little wiggle room in their work isn’t bad, but without proper guidelines they could go all over the place. Giulioni said establishing limits and policies can help give employees a clear path of what to do.

• Include them in decision-making: Nothing will make an employee feel better than if they feel like they are part of the team. Including them in even the smallest decisions will boast their sense of pride and get them to work harder.

Read the full article here.