- Remind yourself why you chose your job. …
- Be proactive instead of reactive. …
- Practice managing up. …
- Balance expressing your ideas with supporting others’ ideas. …
- Communicate with your employer about your career goals. …
- Ask for constructive feedback. …
- Practice active listening.
Why is it important to take ownership at work?
Taking ownership at work can benefit you in several ways. Here are some examples:
What does taking ownership at work mean?
Being proactive in your job role and understanding how your job responsibilities contribute to the achievement of overall company goals are both examples of taking ownership at work. Holding yourself accountable for your work, regardless of the result, and exhibiting a sincere interest in assisting the success of the company are two additional ways to define this concept.
14 ways to take ownership at work
The following is a list of various tactics you can employ to take ownership at work:
1. Remind yourself why you chose your job
You can reenergize yourself for your job responsibilities by reminding yourself of the objectives and career aspirations that motivated you to apply for and accept a job offer. This is because you are aware of the significance of your work for your life and future career. You can reevaluate your career goals and create plans for achieving them by being able to recall why you selected your current position. This could entail developing your interpersonal skills or gaining more experience before thinking about internal promotions.
2. Be proactive instead of reactive
In order to take responsibility for your work, you must be proactive in carrying out your daily tasks. This entails planning ahead to minimize stress or confusion during hectic workdays, anticipating issues and coming up with solutions, seeking clarification on deadlines or tasks, and working in advance.
3. Practice managing up
Employees can manage up by getting to know their superiors’ management styles, communication preferences, and expectations. Additionally, it encourages workers to establish a good working relationship with their manager. This is a practical method for taking responsibility at work because it enables you to build rapport with your superiors and pursue opportunities to expand your professional network.
4. Balance expressing your ideas with supporting others ideas
Speaking your mind during team meetings or on projects is a crucial component of taking responsibility for your work. You must have self-assurance and provide evidence for your claims if you want to succeed in this.
However, it’s equally important to hear other people’s ideas and feedback as it is to express your own. Experienced staff members and company leaders frequently have creative ideas that are in line with corporate objectives. When this occurs, taking responsibility for your work entails respecting others’ opinions and knowing when to act in their favor by turning those opinions into deeds.
5. Communicate with your employer about your career goals
You need to be honest with your manager about what you want to achieve in your job role, which areas you want to learn more about, and the projects or job duties you enjoy the most if you want to take ownership of your work and achieve your career goals. It’s crucial to be sincere with them so that they can comprehend your needs as an employee. Additionally, it assists you in collaborating with your manager to set performance benchmarks and choose new tasks that are in line with your interests.
6. Ask for constructive feedback
Ask for constructive criticism frequently as a regular part of your work routine rather than waiting for performance reviews and peer reviews. You have the opportunity to learn more about how you perform well in your role as a team member and employee by seeking out constructive criticism from superiors and peers. Additionally, it aids in identifying your areas for development in order to more effectively support your business.
7. Practice active listening
You can use active listening to improve your workplace communication abilities and take responsibility for your work. It includes nonverbal cues like nodding, smiling, maintaining eye contact, taking notes, and positioning your body in particular ways, but it can also include making brief verbal gestures and inquiries.
You can more fully comprehend the needs of your employer and your coworkers by actively listening. By paying close attention to the speaker and taking notes, you can also improve your memory. Additionally, being able to listen attentively guarantees that you understand your job’s requirements so that you can complete them successfully.
8. Offer solutions to problems
Offering solutions as opposed to presenting problems is more effective when taking ownership of your work. For instance, think for a moment about how you would resolve the issue on your own before approaching your manager about a problem you encountered. When you meet with them, explain the issue and the potential solutions you have thought of right away. This demonstrates your initiative and aids in keeping your manager informed of workplace activities.
9. Develop your self-awareness
Understanding oneself, including one’s strengths, weaknesses, learning style, and personality traits, is known as self-awareness. You can hold yourself accountable, set goals for improvement, and change how you work to take into account your strengths and weaknesses by having a thorough understanding of your habits and needs. For instance, you can modify your working style to finish tasks in predetermined amounts of time, followed by brief breaks, if you are aware that you have trouble staying focused for extended periods of time.
10. Ask questions early on
You can take ownership of your work when you begin a new project or job assignment by posing questions as soon as possible. This assists you in figuring out the main goals your manager wants you to accomplish as well as the reason behind a project or job assignment for your department or the entire business.
11. Volunteer for new assignments or team roles
You have the chance to hone your skills and inch closer to career milestones by offering to lead presentations, take on extra work, or switch to a different team role for a project. By forcing you to initiate change rather than waiting for someone else to assign you new tasks and responsibilities, volunteering for these opportunities forces you to take ownership of your work.
12. Take advantage of learning opportunities
Motivating yourself to increase your professional knowledge and workplace skills is essential to taking responsibility at work. Participating in training programs or certification courses can help you achieve this. You might be able to pursue these learning opportunities through your HR department, depending on the business you work for. If not, look for certification programs online or in your neighborhood.
13. Set professional goals for yourself
You can tailor your work efforts toward specific standards and career milestones by setting professional goals for yourself. Additionally, it makes you feel empowered because it encourages you to push your personal boundaries and gives you a sense of control over your career aspirations.
14. Develop a forward-thinking attitude
Always consider how your actions and behaviors will affect your coworkers, employer, and future career goals when taking responsibility for your work. An illustration of this would be if you thought about how your participation in work activities might affect your skill level and capacity for promotion in the future.
Taking Ownership: Melissa Maxwell at TEDxMosesBrownSchool
FAQ
What is one way you take ownership of your work?
Taking ownership is about taking initiative. When we feel that taking action is our responsibility and not someone else’s, we take ownership. Even when working with others, you are still responsible for the accuracy and timeliness of the results.
What is an example of ownership?
Ownership definition Ownership is the legal right to possess something. Possession of a particular home and property is an illustration of ownership. the entire set of rights a person has to use and enjoy property, to leave it to another person as an inheritance, or to sell it.
What does it mean to take ownership?
Nowadays, taking ownership means more than being responsible and accountable. Ownership entails being determined, resolving issues, distancing oneself from responsibility, and taking responsibility for actions. Ownership can be the cornerstone of one’s sense of leadership.
What does taking ownership mean in an Organisation?
Ownership is taking the initiative to bring about positive results. It entails taking initiative on your own and caring about the result just as much as you would if you were the company’s owner. It entails taking responsibility for the outcomes of your actions and ensuring that they are timely and of the highest possible quality.
