Ownership in project teams

“Hey Jasper, how can we add a second task owner?”

I almost choked on my coffee.

The worst thing?

They were dead serious.

The only correct answer to “who owns this” is one single name.

When was the last time you got an email in your inbox with an open question, sent to 8 people?

If you’re like most people, you thought “someone else will answer this”.

That, right there, is the problem with multiple owners.

Multiple owners is the same as having no owner.

A conversation about ownership in teams

As the project leader, buck stops with you.

You are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the project.

But within the project, tasks, goals, or actions have owners too. Setting the right expectations for ownership is one of the most impactful things you can do as a project leader.

Whether you use tools like a RACI matrix or the DRI as popularized by Apple - that’s all up to you.

What you want is that with every action, issue, or question, someone (metaphorically) smashes his or her fist on the table and says “this is mine”.

What does ownership mean?

When you own something, you’re responsible for the success or failure of that task or action item.

That doesn’t mean you’ll be the only one working it, but it means that you get the task done or finds the resources to do it.

Taking ownership of something goes beyond doing your job. It means making it your mission to see it through, while you take full responsibility for your actions and decision.

Taking ownership sends a powerful message to the rest of the team: “Consider it done.”

How to improve ownership within your team

I’ve tried countless things over the years, and these four things have worked the best for me. Give them a try!

It starts with why (again)

I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but again: it starts with why. Once your project’s why is established, take the time to explain the bigger picture to the team.

How does this project fit within the overall company strategy? What makes these goals meaningful for the company, employees, and customers?

People love to feel part of a bigger thing, and this is a crucial first step in getting people excited to take pride and ownership over their work.

Empower the team

Encouraging people to take ownership comes means that they’ll be taking decisions. And yes, sometimes they’ll take one that you think is not the best.

If you’re not OK with this, you have work to do.

Delegating means letting go, and accepting that people solve things in other ways than you might have done.

Delegate goals and use your values, purpose, culture, and tools to give rough guidelines for how things are done. Whatever you do, don’t micromanage.

If you want me to dig deeper into delegating, reply “delegate”.

Lead by example

You can only expect others to take ownership if you do it yourself. Take it in public, and be vocal about it. Find solutions, and don’t pass on issues when you get stuck.

Be transparent about any failures and take the blame, while making sure to put the spotlight on the team when things go well.

You succeed as a team, and you blame problems - not people.

Celebrate success

Positive reinforcement is a powerful tool in your toolkit. Whenever someone takes ownership, let them know that you appreciate that.

When something gets done, celebrate the success and build momentum. With every small cheer, you build a sense of accomplishment and ownership in a team.

When it doesn’t go to plan, use the opportunity to learn with the tools from the previous newsletter on giving effective feedback.

The benefits of clear ownership

Projects where everything has one clear owner move faster. People feel empowered to take decisions, and they get rewarded when they do.

This slowly starts a flywheel of entrepreneurial behavior and shifts your role as project leader: you give directions, provide boundaries & support, and get out of the way.

And that client that asked me to add a second task owner?

I politely yet firmly (forgive me, I’m Dutch) explained to them the reasons why my Asana template only had one field for ownership.

And now you know why, too.

Putting it all together

There’s more than enough project management theory out in the world. This newsletter is all about actionable ideas: the street-smart stuff that actually helps you run effective projects.

The next time you’re looking at a list of tasks, agenda items, or deliveries, ask yourself: does each of these have ONE owner?

And does that owner understand what it means to own this, and what outcome is expected?

If not, start there, and watch your flywheel pick up speed.

Before we sign off:

If you're a numbers guy like me, I highly recommend the Mostly Metrics newsletter. Startup CFO CJ Gustafson breaks down business models and monetization frameworks in plain English, and keeps you up to date.

That’ll do for this week!

Jasper