Cultivating ownership at any engineering level

Ownership is cultivated, not mandated - it requires creating an environment where teams feel safe to take risks and make decisions

Seven key techniques for building ownership:

• Ask guiding questions to inspire critical thinking
• Embrace curiosity and new perspectives
• Conduct effective one-on-ones driven by employees
• Express genuine gratitude and celebrate contributions
• Respond thoughtfully instead of reacting
• Establish appropriate guardrails at all levels
• Align individual, team and company values

Engineers need the right amount of support to take ownership - too much direction removes autonomy, too little causes uncertainty

High-ownership teams:

• Understand company mission and priorities
• Feel empowered to make decisions
• Share ownership collectively vs relying on individuals
• Know how to communicate capacity and ask for help
• Drive projects from ideation through completion

Building ownership requires:

• Creating psychological safety
• Celebrating contributions meaningfully
• Helping people own their careers
• Setting clear guardrails while allowing autonomy
• Regular feedback and recognition
• Supporting critical thinking and curiosity

Leaders should focus on:

• Setting vision and guardrails then stepping aside
• Asking questions vs providing solutions
• Helping align personal values with company mission
• Distributing ownership across the team
• Building confidence through empowerment
• Creating learning opportunities through projects