The ownership mindset

By Central States Manufacturing.

A culture of ownership transforms the way people work, think and care.

Imagine walking into a room full of people who treat the business they work for as if it were their own. At Central States Manufacturing, every decision, every interaction and every task is carried out with a personal stake in its success. This is the world of employee ownership — a model where pride, purpose and profit converge. It’s not just about doing the job; it’s about taking ownership, literally and figuratively, of the outcomes. The question isn’t why employee-owners care more; it’s why more businesses don’t embrace this transformative approach.

When someone has an ownership mentality to preserve and maintain something important to them, it means they take extra steps to look after it. That’s why it’s often said that “nobody cares like an owner.”

Of course, thinking and acting like an owner is a big part of what helps employee-owned companies like Central States stand out. Research has shown that the people who work at an employee-owned company will often go the extra mile to make sure their operations are running smoothly, and customers are raving fans or the community they’re a part of feels well-served by the jobs and services they provide.

Why do employee-owners care more? Not only is there the pride of ownership, but when every employee has an ownership stake, there is a direct financial link between the company’s success and their individual success. With this alignment of incentives, employee-owners that buy into thinking like an owner and collectively building an ownership culture can drive improvement in the company’s performance and thus benefit themselves.

For example, team members can shift from seeing a new coworker’s onboarding process as primarily the responsibility of management, to understanding how their own expertise can better-prepare a new colleague for their role. Where a customer previously might have only mattered between a team member and their supervisor, employee-owners understand that retaining and expanding their company’s business can impact the company’s share price—and ultimately their account balances—which can motivate them to play a more collaborative role in delivering high-quality service.

At the end of the day, employee-owners that embrace a sense of ownership and are comfortable wearing their “owners” hats care deeply about playing an active role in shaping the future success of their company.

Original article and photo source: Central States Manufacturing