What 'Take Ownership' Actually Means (From Someone Who Got It Wrong)

“Take ownership” is one of those phrases everyone throws around. At first I thought it meant: say yes to everything, never ask for help, work more hours.

That didn’t end well.

I’ve since learned a better way to think about it. Ownership means you act as if it’s yours. If I have a team member, I assess them as if I’m paying them out of my pocket, not the company. If I’m working as an external for another company, I don’t act like a consultant — I act like I work there.

The things that helped me

Have an opinion

The easiest way to spot ownership is how someone handles problems.

Low ownership: “We have a problem.” High ownership: “We have a problem, here are two things we could try.”

It’s not about being right. It’s about coming up with options. Don’t just bring the issue, also think about how to handle it.

Don’t wait to be told

The small stuff adds up. Sending materials before a meeting instead of after. Blocking time to organize your thoughts before a discussion. Sharing progress without being asked.

None of these are big moves. But over time they build a reputation that you’ve got things under control.

Personally I really appreciate when my team members share progress — not just through PRs but in their own words. Come up with ideas how to optimize things, how to change ways of working.

At McKinsey we had check in and check out, morning and evening. That might be a bit much in day to day work, but I still think a team should work close together. Not just a daily standup, but communicating ongoing. Chatting, making a joke, keeping everyone informed. Not spamming, but actively sharing information, learnings, progress, little things.

Check your own work

This sounds too basic to mention, but it matters more than anything else I’ve listed.

Before you send that email, read it twice. Before you share that slide, check the numbers. Nothing destroys trust faster than an avoidable mistake. Every typo says “I didn’t care enough to check.”

This goes especially for PRs in the age of LLMs. Double check what you did. Telling your coworkers the AI wrote it won’t fly. You submitted the PR. It’s your responsibility.

Set boundaries (this is the hard one)

I thought ownership meant always being available. It doesn’t.

Real ownership means knowing you’ll be useless if you burn out. So set boundaries. Tell people what you need. Block time for your priorities. Say no when your plate is full.

Especially block time for actual work. Preparing a presentation, whatever. I send a daily end of day email plus an end of week email as status to all stakeholders. I block time for it. This isn’t something I do in two minutes. It needs time. Block it.

Your team can’t help you if they don’t know you’re struggling.

The three questions I ask myself

When I’m stuck on something where I need to step up:

1. What’s going on and why does it matter to me?
2. What outcome do I actually want?
3. What can I start doing differently? What should I stop doing?

The answers are usually simpler than I expect.