At the heart of initiative is ownership and pride.

What is ownership?

Ownership is that step you take beyond responsibility. It means you aren’t just acknowledging an obligation; you are committing yourself to doing whatever it takes to get a task done correctly.

Why is ownership an important component of initiative?

When you own something, you go beyond the minimum of what is asked of you. You don’t stop when there is a challenge – you work to find a solution. When you own something, you don’t tell other people, “You didn’t tell me to do that.” Instead, when you see that an action needs to be taken to reach the best possible outcome, you take that action.

Taking ownership means you invest yourself and your skills in the task. It means you care about how your contributions impact the overall outcome.

Ownership and Self-Esteem

When your contributions impact the outcome, each time you reach a goal you build self-esteem. There is nothing more effective for shushing those negative voices in your head than success. Each time you achieve another goal or overcome another obstacle, you create a concrete example of just how awesome you are. As these examples grow, so does your self-esteem. Your work ethic becomes a source of pride that you can build on to grow your leadership skills.

Let’s consider scenarios with a common household chore that illustrates the difference between how ownership and pride are core components of initiative – loading the dishwasher.

Scenario A: Tommy is responsible for loading the dishwasher after dinner every night. He knows that if he puts it off long enough, his mom will usually end up getting frustrated and do it herself. Tommy uses homework as an excuse but is secretly talking to friends on his phone. At most, Tommy knows he will end up receiving a lecture from his mom. The lecture will make him feel guilty, especially when he sees how tired his mom looks, but he persists in putting off the chore. Sometimes, Tommy argues with his mom, reminding her that homework should come first before household chores. As a result, Tommy is quick to provide excuses whenever his mom gives him something to do or talks to him about things he needs to do better.

Scenario B: After dinner, Harper knows she is also responsible for loading the dishwasher; a chore she is not fond of. She knows that being responsible is an important part of earning her parents’ trust and so she makes sure she loads the dishwasher right after dinner every night. She is hoping that by doing her chores she will be able to convince her parents that she is responsible enough to get a puppy this summer. Harper has figured out that if she works really fast, she can get all the dishes loaded in under ten minutes. Despite her loading the dishes every day without fail, her parents continue to lecture her about being responsible and she is getting frustrated. In response, they point to melted plastic glasses and dishes that came out dirty. She points out that it is not her fault the dishwasher doesn’t always work correctly and nobody told her the glasses would melt, but they just don’t get it.

Scenario 3: Jayden also loads the dishwasher every night. He takes the time to scrape any scraps of food off the dishes and rinses those that seem particularly gritty. Jayden also is careful to consider the type of dish and whether it should be loaded on the top or bottom rack of the dishwasher. As a result, Jayden’s parents are very appreciative of the good work that he has been doing and has complimented him several times. Jayden has felt a growing sense of pride in the activity and continues to commit to doing a good job with all of his chores. As a result, Jayden is confident in his ability to follow through when given an assignment, and that shows when he interviews as a busser at a restaurant. He is hoping that if he does a good job, he will earn an opportunity to work as a line cook. Someday, Jayden hopes to own a restaurant and this would be a great chance for him to learn.

Let’s consider how initiative plays a part in each of these scenarios and what happens when you apply these actions at school and work.

In Scenario A, Tommy displays not only a lack of initiative, but a lack of responsibility when it comes to his chores. If you think of the family as a team where everyone is expected to contribute, Tommy is not pulling his weight. If this was a team project at school, nobody would want Tommy on their team because they would know he wouldn’t complete his part of the assignment, and would be defensive and argumentative about why he didn’t get it done. This might make him less likely to make solid friendships with his classmates, making him feel even worse about himself. At work, if Tommy consistently failed to complete a task assigned by his manager, he would lose his job. At work, it is about productivity, defensiveness, and excuses are not enough.

Harper, in Scenario B, was grudgingly responsible for her chore. However, because Harper did not apply initiative and only did the bare minimum, the results of her work were sloppy and did not meet the expectations of her parents. Her parents know that if Harper cannot apply problem resolution skills to loading the dishwasher, she won’t be able to handle the more complex task of training a puppy. Training a puppy is something that requires consistency and attention to detail. If Harper continues as she is, it is unlikely she will prove to her parents that she is ready to raise a puppy and she will continue to be frustrated. In school and work, doing the bare minimum might get you by, but odds are you will not earn the esteem and trust of your teacher and manager. They will both know you could do better if you just applied initiative to your work. We all have aspects of our jobs and our schoolwork that we dislike doing, but we still need to do a good job. Quality is always important at school and work, and will determine if you get pay increases or promotions. If your quality is poor enough, it could result in a bad grade or loss of employment. Simply taking the initiative to pay attention to detail and resolve problems can result in an immediate increase in quality.

In Scenario C, Jayden takes ownership of his chore. He takes the initiative to check that dishes are properly prepped and placed in the dishwasher. He cares about doing a good job, even if the chore isn’t one of his favorites. As a result, Jayden and his parents are proud of his actions. This small achievement has helped Jayden feel more confident about his ability to successfully take on new challenges. At school and work, sometimes working to perfect smaller parts of your learning or job duties can prepare you for more complex assignments. Additionally, leaders realize that all aspects of a job are important, even the ones that are not as fun.

So, are you currently most like Tommy, Harper, or Jayden? Who do you want to be most like? Where can you apply initiative in your life to take ownership? If you already take ownership in your life, how has this helped you build pride in yourself?