OWNERSHIP

In high school, my choir teacher used to talk about "ownership" almost more often than she talked about music. The phrase "taking ownership" was used for everything from learning to hold your own part, to showing up on time and prepared, to rehearsing outside of school, to presenting yourself as an adult in concert settings...

I used that phrase today when talking to a core group of people at work - and I remembered how much it meant to me when my choir teacher used to say it - and I hope that the meaning and the significance was passed on to these colleagues. To me, when given ownership over something (or when asked to take ownership) meant that trust was being placed in you - and living up to that trust was not only something you did for the person endowing the trust, but also something you did for yourself because you had accepted the ownership.

It was somehow more powerful than "responsibility" as that only implied being responsible to someone else. OWNERSHIP really reached down into your gut and asked you to live up to the highest potential that was inside of you. It always brought out the best in me - and I hope it will bring out the best in them.