Today is the second part of my blog on what makes your team members feel a sense of ownership.  Remember, there’s a lot more to be said about team BUILDING and ownership, and I go into tons more detail about this at my 7 Figure Business Summit on 4/30-5/2.  The event is only TWO weeks away now, and there are less than 30 spots left.  You can still come for the early-bird price of $997 AND bring a friend for half price. (That’s MY PERSONAL business acceleration recession buster — 7 Figure Business Summit.)

Reminder: Your comments and feedback on this blog are always welcome.

If you want more accountability, more initiative, more caring and concern for your business, you’ll want to crank up the aspects of ownership that a team member feels.

5. Authority.  This is the degree of autonomy the person has to make decisions without you.  Remember, a group of partners has limits on individual authority, so saying “owner” or not does not answer this question, it’s independent, but more authority does make someone feel like they have more power over their environment and life and thus feel more like an owner. Your team members need to “own” their areas completely without your micro-managing them, and likewise, major corporate decisions are yours, the CEO’s, and these must be respected too. It’s fine and even good to be questioned. If the emperor has no clothes, speak up for goodness sake. We all have reality distortion fields. The question is, is someone’s about to damage the company? If so, speak up, if not, let them thrive and control their area of responsibility.

6. Consultation.  People like (and want and need) to have their advice solicited, to be listened to, to be consulted on major decisions. This does not imply you have to do what they say, but does commit you to ask their opinion and listen. And heck, if you don’t want to consult your team members, then you have the wrong team. Remember how I say it’s crucial to hire people who are smarter than you? This is one of the many reasons why. You’ll want to tap into their smarts. Appreciation and acknowledgement are conveyed when you ask someone’s advice, when you respectfully listen to it and consider it.

7. “Marriage.”  This is the psychological aspect of feeling a sense of mutual commitment.  It is in some ways the aggregate of the other rights, but in my experience is more about the manner in which you deal with the person, the way you introduce them to the world externally and internally, and whether you act like the senior partner or the boss. For instance, I have an agreement with my team members that we’re in this together, and neither one of us will bail on the other without voicing our concerns and trying to remedy the situation. Sounds like a marriage doesn’t it? It sort of is, and when you have this degree of mutual commitment, it makes the hard days easier, the burdens lighter, the trust level higher, the road smoother. Because you’re not alone, as so many entrepreneurs feel they are.

8. Time.  All of these rights can increase or decrease over time (vesting).  No one but a founder (and often not a founder) gets everything irrevocably all at once.  Trust is earned. It’s a cycle of testing, and trusting, then testing some more, then trusting some more.

A sense of ownership is a beautiful thing. What are you doing to foster this within your team?

To your amazing and IMMEDIATE 7 Figure Success,

Christine Comaford, 7 Figure Business Builder
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
NY Times Best Selling Author of Rules for Renegades

PS: IF you cannot attend my Summit for any reason, then by all means, grab my Results Now Webinar and get started – but I think you should ALL be at that Summit and give me a chance to see you and hear the extraordinary life that YOU want to build.