My Approach to Cultivating Deep Ownership
The power of empowerment and the "hills I’ll die on" framework.
I've always believed that true organizational success comes from empowering people to fully own their areas of expertise. Throughout my career, I've seen firsthand how traditional hierarchies can slow down innovation and kill engagement. That's why I'm passionate about cultivating a culture of empowerment, one where each team member clearly understands what I call their "hill to die on."
Why I Champion Empowerment
In my experience, explicitly defining domains of expertise creates an environment where people thrive. I'm not alone in this thinking, research supports it too.
Research involving over 7,000 workers revealed a significant contrast in engagement levels based on empowerment: employees lacking empowerment scored only in the 24th percentile for engagement, while highly empowered employees reached the 79th percentile. This dramatic 55% point gap reinforces my conviction that empowerment isn't just a nice-to-have, it's essential for today's organizations.
The Hills We Die On (not literally)
I like to use the analogy of "hills to die on" because it perfectly captures what I'm trying to achieve. These are the areas where team members hold specialized knowledge that grants them decision-making authority. I want each person on my team to know exactly which hill they're defending with their expertise.
When I've implemented this approach, I've seen several benefits emerge that align with what research has shown:
Expertise becomes visible and valued
Decisions happen more efficiently
Team members become more deeply invested
Innovation accelerates dramatically
How I Build an Empowerment Culture
Being intentional about empowerment has been key to my leadership approach.
Culture is described as “the way things work around here,” while engagement describes “how people feel about the way things work around here.” I believe that adding empowerment is a key ingredient to driving engagement.
Here's how I make it work:
Clearly Defining Who Owns What
I start by explicitly mapping out where each team member's authority lies. As a VP of Product Marketing, I make it crystal clear: "Being a VP doesn't mean I have decision rights over everything in marketing! I control messaging, our creative director defends brand, and our social media expert drives social video."
I believe that when people identify their "zone of genius," both personal satisfaction and organizational outcomes improve dramatically.
Distinguishing Between Decision Rights and Input
There’s a significant distinction between having decision authority and providing input. On my teams, everyone can offer suggestions across domains, but the designated expert determines what feedback to implement.
Hard Feedback vs. Soft Suggestions
I've found it essential to help my team understand the difference between:
Hard feedback: Critical input that addresses fundamental concerns within someone's domain
Soft suggestions: Optional ideas that the domain owner can consider but isn't obligated to implement
This distinction prevents overreach while still encouraging the cross-functional collaboration that drives innovation.
The Flow State I Strive For
When empowerment cultures mature, I've witnessed what I can only describe as "flow”, a state where decisions happen smoothly, innovation accelerates, and team members feel deeply invested in outcomes.
Gallup’s 2023 research backs up my experience, showing that companies with empowered and engaged workforces are 18% more productive and 23% more profitable than those with low engagement.
I've seen this performance boost come from several factors:
Reduced decision fatigue for leaders
Better utilization of specialized expertise
Deeper psychological ownership among team members
Faster responsiveness to market changes
Challenges I've Overcome
Implementing an empowerment culture hasn't been without challenges. I've had to:
Let Go of Control
Like many leaders, I initially struggled to let go control, fearing quality would suffer. Research shows executives typically overestimate how much oversight is necessary. I've learned to trust my team's expertise.
Establish Clear Boundaries
I've invested significant time in mapping expertise boundaries and resolving gray areas to prevent confusion.
Manage Conflicting Viewpoints
When domains overlap, conflicts can arise. I've established clear systems for resolving these tensions constructively through constructive debate and single decision making.
My Empowerment Roadmap
For those looking to follow a similar path, here's my approach:
Map expertise domains explicitly
Establish clear decision protocols
Train everyone on feedback types
Create psychological safety for domain defenders
Celebrate when domain owners make excellent decisions
The Deep Ownership I've Witnessed
When I've successfully implemented cultures of empowerment and deep ownership, I've unlocked extraordinary potential in my teams. Team members bring their full expertise to bear, I can focus my energy where it matters most, and the entire organization becomes more responsive and innovative.
As I've experienced firsthand, this creates deep ownership, and once it works... it flows!
By clearly defining the hills each team member will defend, I've created environments where expertise flourishes and engagement soars. I believe this approach represents not just a competitive advantage, but an essential evolution in how we structure work itself.