Why good people don't act.

Ownershit – What’s really going on when your people don’t follow

“Take more responsibility!”
Leaders know this sentence, whether it is said out loud or silently assumed. Many wish their people would do more on their own initiative.

Their people, however, are nowhere near ready to do anything with that demand. Often it isn’t simply a matter of “Want to”, but also of “Safe to” or “Able to”.

When the conditions for ownership aren’t in place, the workforce dismisses the demand as “shit”.

This keynote shows the three places where ownership breaks down in organizations: at Want to, at Safe to and at Able to. Leaders learn what share they have in it and what they can do differently starting tomorrow.

Take-aways:

• Why ownership can’t be ordered.
• How to tell whether it’s Want to, Safe to or Able to that’s missing.
• Which levers leaders actually hold in their hands.

Everyone’s on board, nobody’s at the helm – Why responsibility without authority doesn’t land

“Take the helm!”
That’s exactly what leaders want: people who set a course, make decisions and help steer the ship. The helm is free, the invitation has been given. And still nobody is standing at it.

This isn’t laziness. Anyone asked to take the helm first asks: Where are we actually heading? What do I do in a storm? What happens if I can’t hold the course? As long as these questions stay open, the spot at the helm stays empty, and the crew keeps rowing on command.

This keynote shows where room for decisions exists only on paper: in roles, authority and the question of who has the final say when it counts. Leaders learn how to truly hand over the helm and how their people can tell that it’s safe to take it.

Take-aways:

• Why an invitation to take responsibility doesn’t land without clear authority.
• How to tell whether your team is really allowed to decide or only pretends to.
• Which decisions you can hand over starting tomorrow.

Work Is No Picnic – Why ownership decides success or failure

“This is no picnic here. Here, people take responsibility!”
The wish of entrepreneurs and leaders for employees who take on more responsibility is not a “nice to have”. Ownership in the workforce can be the game changer and can decide whether a company succeeds or fails.

Still, ownership is often treated like a feel-good topic: an appeal at the town hall, a poster, a motivation workshop. As if it were a company picnic organized on the side.

Yet ownership is not a character trait that some people have and others don’t. It emerges or fails to, depending on what an organization creates for it. That is hard work, and it falls to leadership.

This keynote shows what missing ownership actually costs a company: decisions that stall, responsibility that gets handed back up, people waiting for instructions. Leaders learn why appeals aren’t enough and where they can start themselves.

Take-aways:

• Why ownership is not a “nice to have” but helps decide success or failure.
• How to tell what missing ownership costs in your organization.
• Why appeals aren’t enough and where to start instead.