AN ARTICLE TO EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT:

BUILDING OWNERSHIP IN THE

WORKPLACE
When I think of a “service transaction”, taking a cue from Tom
Peters, my mind is not in the same place as when I think of a
trip to Disneyland. A whole different thing is conjured up when
a Disney experience is under consideration. I think that
difference is critical. For me at least, an experience is far more
holistic, total, encompassing, emotional, and transforming than
a mere service. A service is a transaction. An experience is
an event, an adventure – with a beginning, middle and
an end. An experience leaves an indelible memory and
adds to my history.

Please read it again!

Powerful, you agree, but the question is, what will it take an
organization to turn a service transaction into a memorable
experience, what will it take, to get the interests of
everyone behind a shared vision, what will it take to build a
highly participatory work environment, what will it take, to get
people to think like owners.

WORKPLACE OWNERSHIP
Drawing largely from the writings of Kevin and Jackie Freiberg,
owners think differently from non owners because ownership
is a state of the mind. It’s about caring, about becoming fully
engaged in the active pursuit of organizational objectives. For
example, owners are more apt to worry about how their actions
are being perceived by their superiors. Owners focus on the
business results of their actions, regardless of who’s
watching. Non owners maybe more inclined to protect
functional areas, pursue self interest, and approach the
business from a parochial point of view.

Non owners have a greater tendency to live by the rules, even

when the rules run contrary to common sense. Owners bend,
stretch, and even break rules that don’t serve the organizations
purpose. Owners ask questions like, “If this were my
company, what would I do differently? How would I
handle that customer? Would I buy that piece of
equipment?

Ownership in the form of stock or even profit sharing, practiced

by many organizations/companies, can be effective. But even
more powerful is an ownership mentality.

Research carried out by a group of global talent leaders,

including Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans, describe
employee engagement as, capturing employees’ mind and
hearts at each stage of their work lives. To be fully
engaged/ to have an ownership mentality requires
emotional involvement, leading to increased
productivity, higher customer satisfaction and greater
profits.

Disengaged employees (those who quit and stay), are

the psychological casualties of talent mismanagement -
employees who leave are the physical casualties.

Jack Welch, for CEO of General Electric said, “I think any

company that is trying to plan in the new millennium
has got to find a way to engage the mind of every single
employee”

Let’s examine a case in point:

Enter “Southwest Airlines”:

Southwest Airlines is well known for offering low cost, generally

short flights across the US, as Traci L. Fenton posits; Southwest
has succeeded largely because the airline forgoes the
traditional business model by choosing to skip hub-controlled
airports, flying one model of airplane –the Boeing 737, offering
ticket less travel, turning planes around in 10-20 minutes; the
airline has one of the best safety records in the industry,
earning the industry’s Triple crown award for on-time
performance, baggage handling and fewest customer
complaints for 5 years straight.

Southwest, says Fenton, is equally known for its colorful

corporate culture and highly participatory work environment.
The company’s mission statement is a living, breathing
document that provides guidance to every Southwest
employee. Let’s now take a closer look at the mission
statement:

“Southwest Airlines is dedicated to the highest quality of

customer service delivered with a sense of warmth,
friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit. We are
committed to provide our employees a stable work
environment with equal opportunity for learning and
personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged
for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above
all, Employees will be provided the same concern,
respect, and caring attitude within the organization that
they are expected to share externally with every
Southwest customer.”

This mission, like that of so many other companies, sounds

powerful, but what makes this one unique is that it is lived by
the Southwest Management. The company actually believes
that employees – not customers, come first; as the mission
says, that employees will be provided the same caring attitude
within the organization that they are expected to share
externally.

Kevin and Jackie Freiberg quoted a piece taken from the

Readers Digest in its July 1995 “Personal Glimpses” feature:

While Southwest Airlines CEO Herb Kelleher gives customers a

terrific deal on an airplane seat, he makes it clear that his
employees come first – even if it means dismissing customers.
But aren’t customer always right? No they are not, “Kelleher
snaps” And I think that’s one of the biggest betrayals of
employees a boss can possibly commit. The customer is
sometimes wrong. We don’t carry those sorts of customers.
We write to them and say, fly somebody else. Don’t abuse our
people.

A statement based on the principle of Reciprocity:

“That if you create the kind of environment that your

people want to work in, they will deliver, if they are
ignored, they can undermine and even hurt overall
productivity. Employees actually have the power to fire
the boss – simply by delivering weak performance and
low productivity, as said by the global practice leaders.

Then, the belief that, when the systems, structure, policies,

procedures, and practices of an organization are designed and
lived out so that employees genuinely feel that they come first
– trust is the result.

Herb Kellerher, former CEO of Southwest said, we can’t tell you

how many times we’ve heard employees say, Herb would
never ask us to do anything they aren’t willing to do
themselves” – They lead by example and affect change
from the inside out – they naturally model the behavior they
would like to see in others.

This I believe we can all learn from

Let me know what you think

Kay Olufemi-Ayoola has been a practicing Career

Development expert and Coach for over 5years; he has
inspired thousands to reach personal and professional
fulfillment and transform their careers. Using individual and
group coaching, conducting hands-on workshops and seminars
and consulting with organizations , he coaches his clients to
advance up the corporate ladder quickly, and love the job they
have or land their dream job. Kay’s active engagement in
Human Resources and Career Development began in the mid
1990’s as an undergraduate conducting Personal Achievement
Success Seminars (P.A.S.S) and Career Talks, which were aimed
at helping students maximize their potentials regardless of
prevailing obstacles in their environment. He has extensive
work experiences from various Consulting firms and was Head,
Human Resources Vigeo Oil & Gas Limited, and Chief
Operating Officer, After School Graduate Development
Centre before his appointment as Head, Human Resources
& Administration, Spring Life Assurance Plc (a
subsidiary of Bank PHB). Kay is the founder and Coordinator
of Daystar Christian Centre’s Career Development Unit –
CareerPlus+ (started in 2004). He is a frequent speaker at
seminars conferences and has published well over 60+ articles
on Career Development, Personal Branding, Career
Change & Transitions and Graduate Employability to
Executive
date. He is the co-founder & Partner of
toolkit: Peak Performance Coaches.

olufemikay@yahoo.com
careerbureau@yahoogroups.com
0803-7207606