Why Your Team Isn’t Taking Ownership—And How to Fix It

The Key to Turning Passive Employees into Proactive Leaders

For years, I struggled with a frustrating reality: my team wouldn’t take ownership of their work. No matter how clearly I set expectations, I always chased deadlines, solved problems, and made tough calls alone. I assumed the issue was them—maybe they just didn’t have the drive or accountability I expected.

I was wrong. The problem wasn’t my team. The problem was how I was leading.

Ownership isn’t something you demand—it’s something you create. When I changed the way I led, my team changed, too. They started thinking ahead, making decisions with confidence, and taking responsibility for outcomes. Here’s how I did it.

Three Leadership Shifts That Build True Ownership

🔹 Stop Solving Every Problem
– If you answer every question and fix every issue, your team will always look to you for direction. Instead, ask them how they would handle it.

🔹 Make Room for Decision-Making
– People don’t take ownership of work they don’t control. Give your team real authority over their projects, even if it means letting them make (and learn from) mistakes.

🔹 Tie Work to a Bigger Purpose
– People engage when they see the impact of their contributions. Connect daily tasks to the broader mission of your team or organization.

Want to See Immediate Results? Try This Today.

✔ Turn a question into a coaching moment. The next time someone asks, What should I do?, respond with, What do you think?

✔ Step back from a project. Instead of leading every detail, give a team member full responsibility and see how they rise to the challenge.

✔ Acknowledge proactive behavior. When someone takes initiative, recognize it publicly—it reinforces the behavior of the entire team.

Ready to Lead Forward?

If you want a team that thinks, acts, and performs like leaders, you have to lead like one first. In Lead Forward!, I share the exact strategies that helped me transform my leadership—and my team. Let’s make the shift together.