by Dr. Matthew F. Wilson, founder of the Ownership Academy and author of “Ownership Unlocked: 4 Keys to Transform Disengaged Teams into Proactive, Results-Driven Champions”
As a small business owner, you’ve likely stayed late handling tasks that “only you can do,” wondering why your team doesn’t show the same commitment to the business. After studying psychological ownership for over two decades, I’ve discovered that it doesn’t have to be this way. That’s because small businesses have a hidden advantage over large corporations: the ability to create a genuine culture of ownership.
This isn’t about legal ownership or equity sharing. It’s about creating an environment where employees develop psychological ownership — where they treat the business’s success as personally important. When employees think and act like stakeholders rather than just employees, small businesses achieve remarkable results despite limited resources.
What Ownership Looks Like
Before implementing changes, let’s consider what an ownership mindset actually looks like in practice. What might you observe? Employees with psychological ownership proactively solve problems without being asked. They make decisions with the business’s long-term health in mind. They take responsibility for outcomes rather than making excuses. You’ll notice their emotional investment in both successes and setbacks. And perhaps most tellingly, they regularly go beyond formal job descriptions when needed. The research confirms what I’ve seen firsthand: businesses with high ownership cultures enjoy significantly higher profitability and remarkably lower turnover.
Assess and Clarify
Start by assessing your current culture honestly. Do team members offer solutions or just identify problems? How often do employees take initiative without direction? When mistakes happen, do people take responsibility or make excuses? This assessment will highlight where your ownership culture needs attention.
Next, clarify your business’s purpose beyond making money. A small accounting firm exists “to give small business owners peace of mind,” not just “to prepare tax returns.” Creating an ownership culture will require that you clarify the “Why” of your organization so that you can help connect everyone’s work to something good and worthwhile: something beyond a paycheck.
Invite Ownership Directly
One of the most overlooked aspects of creating ownership is simply inviting it. Many employees don’t know they’re allowed or expected to take ownership. Schedule conversations where you explicitly invite team members to take ownership in specific areas. When they bring problems, resist providing immediate solutions. Instead, ask, “What do you think we should do?” When someone demonstrates ownership, acknowledge it specifically.
Create Real Influence
Without real influence, ownership is impossible. People need to see that they can affect outcomes if they are to feel like real stakeholders in your business. Delegate authority, not just tasks. Instead of asking someone to “update the website,” give someone ownership of the entire web presence with decision-making authority. Involve team members in decisions affecting their work. When they make suggestions, act promptly— Nothing kills ownership faster than watching ideas disappear into a black hole of “we’ll consider that later.”
Think Long-Term
True “owners” think long-term, so help employees see themselves as part of the company’s future. Instead of exit interviews when it’s too late, hold regular conversations asking what would make them want to stay long-term. Small businesses often can’t offer traditional corporate career paths, but they can provide growth through expanded responsibility or skill development. Consider profit-sharing that directly connects business success to personal gain.
For ownership to become cultural, it needs systemic support. Look for candidates with a track record of taking initiative. From day one, emphasize ownership expectations. Evaluate and reward ownership behaviors specifically, not just task completion. Identify and eliminate policies that undermine autonomy.
Start small, but start now. What’s one ownership conversation you could have with a key team member this week? Which decision area might you fully delegate? What key business metric could you share with your team that you haven’t before? The journey toward an ownership culture isn’t about grand gestures but consistent, thoughtful actions that signal your commitment to a different way of working together. When you take these steps, you’ll transform your team from employees who simply do their jobs into “owners” who help drive your business forward—giving your small business a competitive advantage that money can’t buy.
Dr. Matthew F. Wilson is the author of “Ownership Unlocked: 4 Keys to Transform Disengaged Teams into Proactive, Results-Driven Champions” and founder of the Ownership Academy. With a Ph.D. focused on psychological ownership and decades of corporate experience, he helps organizations build cultures where everyone takes ownership.
