19. Ownership Is Personal
EP19: Ownership Is Personal
Arc: It’s All Personal
Theme: What "ownership" actually looks like inside a growing company, and how founder-led companies can create the conditions for it to thrive.
It’s one thing to get someone to complete a task.
It’s another to see them take real ownership of the work.
In this episode, James digs into what ownership really looks like inside a growing company — and why so many founders want it but don’t create the conditions for it to thrive.
If you’re leading a team and frustrated by people “waiting to be told” or just going through the motions, this is for you.
You’ll learn:
- Why responsibility and ownership aren’t the same thing
- The subtle ways founders can kill ownership without realizing it
- How to create trust both ways so people step up without fear
- Two practical moves to grow ownership starting this month
Reflection questions:
- Where in your business is “responsibility” confused with “ownership”?
- How do you react when someone takes initiative and it doesn’t go perfectly?
- What’s one piece of work you could hand off completely this month?
Links and Resources:
- The Next Question Guide → NextQuestionGuide.com
- LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/jamesmayhew
- Website → JamesMayhew.com
Transcript
It’s one thing to get someone to complete a task.
It’s another to see them take real ownership of the work.
Ownership shows up in how they prepare, the details they notice, and the problems they solve before you even know they exist.
It’s how they carry the work —
not just whether they check the box.
Hi, I’m James and you’re listening to the Leadership in 5 podcast.
This is the third of five episodes in our It’s All Personal series — and this series is vital because it’s important to recognize that excellence looks operational, but it’s always about people.
Here’s what founders often miss:
Ownership isn’t just about responsibility.
It’s about pride.
It’s about believing the work matters enough to give it their best effort.
And you can’t force that.
You can assign a job, hand someone a task, and even give them authority…
but if the environment doesn’t invite and expect ownership,
most people will stick to the safe route…
They’ll wait for approval.
They’ll play inside the lines.
They’ll protect themselves instead of fighting for the outcome everyone wants.
One of the fastest ways to kill ownership is to jump in and “fix” things yourself.
Another is to punish mistakes instead of learning from them.
I’ve watched both happen in companies that wanted more ownership — but never made space for it.
Here’s the truth:
Leadership is learning how to work with and through others.
That requires trust both ways:
- You have to trust them enough to give them something start-to-finish…
- and they have to trust you enough to take that space without fear of getting burned for it.
So here’s where to start:
Pick one project or outcome you can hand over entirely. Don’t just hand over the tasks, but the authority to own the decisions and actions within clear boundaries. Let them run it. Guide them. Support them.
Resist the pull to step in to fix it or do it your way.
Model true ownership yourself — talk about the “why” behind your choices, show how you weigh trade-offs, and let them see your thinking process, not just your formula and method.
Reflection questions:
Where in your business is “responsibility” confused with “ownership”?
How do you react when someone takes initiative and it doesn’t go perfectly?
What’s one piece of work you could hand off completely this month?
Ownership is personal because it’s never just about the work — it’s about the person willing to stand behind it.
And that’s worth thinking about today.
