From Impossible to Inevitable, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 21For Executives: Create Functional Ownership

Let's break down how you start and create Functional Ownership in your teams.

If you're an employee and this stuff doesn't interest you, feel free to skip ahead to Part VII: Define Your Destiny, which is just for you.

A SIMPLE SURVEY

Start out with a fresh pulse check for any morale or trust issues. If people don't trust management or the company, that lack of trust can derail everything else. People that don't trust management don't listen, care, or follow through. If they don't feel the company is investing in them, they're not going to invest in helping the company.

A Simple Survey: Six Questions

1. Context: What's your role? Who's your manager?
2. Likes: What do you like about [working here | your job | your manager | our product | how we sell …]? Please include details or specific examples.
3. Dislikes: What don't you like about [working here | your job | your manager | our product | how we sell …]? Please include details or specific examples.
4. The twist: If you ran things, what would you do differently? Please include details or specific examples.
5. Catch-all: What else is on your mind? Anything else we should know?
6. Optional: How do we contact you if we have follow-up questions about your answers?

Notice how by focusing the “Likes” and “Dislikes” questions, you can target any specific or general topic.

You want honest feedback from people, and so you need to make it optional, but not required, to include their identifying ...