Are You A Renter Or An Owner?

Many people give me the impression that they do not own their life, but rather rent it. The difference is huge: as a renter, you know that you can return whatever you rent at any time, according to the contract. No obligations left. As an owner you have full responsibility; as a renter only partially. Have you ever washed a rented car? 

What I see as a key difference between successful and average people is that the former treat all they do as if they owned it.

They are proud of it, maintain it, leverage it, and maximize its impact. In contrast, those who do things just as renters become negligent about their tasks and goals, do not think of leverage, and hardly maintain a high performance level. 

What I describe here as “it” can be your life, your business, your job, your body, your relationships; in brief, everything that you deal with. 

Here comes the even more interesting part: the most successful businesses have teams that see themselves as owners of their tasks and goals. Average companies mainly have renters as employees. 

So, the decisive question for you as a leader is this: How can you transform more of your people into owners instead of renters? Here are three proven ways: 

1. Give them something to own.
   This sounds simple, yet is profound. Many leaders hesitate to hand over goals and tasks completely to their team members. As a result, those members will not feel like owners and consequently will not invest their whole energy. It’s important to note that this often happens subconsciously, so people are not even aware that they act as renters and not as owners.
2. Make yourself an owner.
   Too many managers do not feel that they own their goals. This even sometimes applies to CEOs. They argue that the market or the competitors or any outside force rules their agenda. If you want to grow the commitment of your team, become a full owner yourself first!
3. Make your expectations clear.
   A lot of performance potential within a team stems from the fact that the people are not sure if they are fully in charge or have just “rented” the goals from their boss, who could reclaim them at any time. As a leader, always make your expectation clear that you want to see your people as owners.

So here you have three key ideas that will help you achieve even more with your team. Now you "just" have to apply them.

Next steps:

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