Ownership vs. Accountability: Building a Team That Owns Results
For engineering managers, the difference between accountability and ownership can be the difference between a functional team and a high-performing one. We often talk about holding people accountable, but true, scalable success comes from fostering a sense of ownership. This article explores that crucial distinction, and how you can build a team that doesn't just complete tasks, but truly owns the results.
Defining the Difference
Accountability means being responsible for doing the work. It’s about completing assigned tasks and being answerable for their completion. Ownership, however, goes beyond simply doing. It’s about taking responsibility for the outcome, for the success or failure of a project, and proactively seeking solutions.
Here's a simple way to visualize it:
| Accountability (Doing) | Ownership (Outcome) | |
|---|---|---|
| Task Complete | Just gets the job done | Delivers exceptional results & learns from the process |
| Problem Arises | Points fingers | Takes responsibility & finds a solution |
Why Ownership Matters
Often, teams default to accountability. Tasks are assigned, completed (or not), and blame is assigned when things go wrong. But this creates a reactive, rather than proactive, environment. It stifles innovation and prevents teams from learning from their mistakes.
I saw this firsthand at a previous company. We were consistently missing deadlines, and the post-mortem meetings always devolved into finger-pointing. Each team member would explain why they weren’t responsible, rather than focusing on what we could do better. The result was a culture of fear and a constant cycle of missed deadlines.
The cost of this “collective shrug” was significant. Not only were we delivering projects late, but we were also losing valuable learning opportunities. Each missed deadline wasn’t just a project delay – it was a missed chance to improve our processes and build a more resilient team.
True scalability doesn’t come from simply adding more people; it comes from building a team that owns the entire process—from planning to execution to post-mortem analysis.
Let's look at a simple example:
- Accountability-focused assignment: "Please fix this bug in the user authentication module."
- Ownership-focused assignment: "The user authentication module is experiencing a bug that’s impacting user logins. Investigate the root cause, implement a fix, and propose a preventative measure to avoid similar issues in the future."
See the difference? The latter assignment encourages proactive problem-solving and a long-term perspective.
Practical Steps to Foster Ownership
Here's how you can move beyond accountability and cultivate a culture of ownership within your team:
- Shift from Tasks to Outcomes: Instead of assigning tasks, define the desired outcome. What problem are you trying to solve? What impact will success have? Let your team figure out how to achieve that outcome.
- Empower Decision-Making: Give your team the autonomy to make decisions, even if it means making mistakes. Mistakes are learning opportunities, but only if you create a safe environment for experimentation.
- Encourage Proactive Problem Solving: Don't wait for problems to arise. Encourage your team to identify potential risks and proactively address them.
- Facilitate Direct Customer Interaction: Connecting your engineers directly with the people who use their products is a powerful way to foster ownership. When they can see the impact of their work firsthand, they’re more invested in the outcome. It transforms development from a theoretical exercise into a real-world problem-solving mission.
- Conduct Effective Blameless Postmortems: Everyone knows about blameless postmortems, but it’s about how you conduct them. Focus on identifying systemic issues rather than individual mistakes. Ask questions like: "What processes failed?" "What assumptions did we make that turned out to be incorrect?" and most importantly, “What action items can we implement to prevent this from happening again?”
The Manager’s Role: From Director to Facilitator
Your role as a manager isn't to tell people what to do, but to enable them to take ownership. This means:
- Removing Roadblocks: Actively identify and remove any obstacles that are preventing your team from taking ownership. This could involve securing necessary resources, navigating organizational bureaucracy, or providing mentorship.
- Creating a Safe Environment: Foster a culture of trust and psychological safety where team members feel comfortable taking risks, sharing ideas, and admitting mistakes without fear of reprisal.
- Providing Support and Guidance: Be a coach and mentor, providing support and guidance when needed, but avoiding micromanagement.
- Celebrating Ownership: Recognize and celebrate instances where team members take ownership and go above and beyond. This reinforces the desired behavior and encourages others to follow suit.
By shifting your focus from accountability to ownership, you can unlock the full potential of your team and build a high-performing, resilient organization. It’s not just about getting things done; it’s about empowering your team to own the results and drive lasting success.