It was late Summer 1978 and I was attending the annual Church Picnic with my family. My dad, engaged in a lively conversation, called me over and said, “Bob and his wife are leaving for Africa next week, they’ll be gone for several years and he has a problem”. Knowing my dad, there was no need for me to respond, he would continue on with or without my verbal ascent. “Bob owns this car over here and he wants to sell it someone that’ll take real good care of it.” “Cool!” I replied, “Are you gonna buy it?” “Nope!” he said with a smirk, “You are!”

Now, I had saved up a good bit of money from my paper route as well as my neighborhood snow shoveling and lawn mowing gigs but buying a car wasn’t necessarily on the top of my list of things to do. Why not you ask? Because I was only 11 years old!!!

Dad assisted me in “haggling” with the missionary over what I would pay. Reflecting on that now, I take serious theological issue with my younger self!  We settled on $800.

The next day I gave him the cash and he handed me the keys to my very own 1951 Chevrolet Deluxe. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! My dad drove home “the long way” and I rode shotgun. To this day it’s one of the proudest moments of my life!

We were a middle class family and our modest home boasted a one-car garage. We never discussed it but mom and dad’s cars sat outside through the harsh Minnesota winter while the “51” was nice and cozy in the garage. Every few weeks I’d grab the keys and fire it up to keep the oil moving and the battery charged. I loved the smell of the musty cloth interior, the deep rumble of the V-8 as it growled through the solid steel exhaust. I had the push-button presets on the AM radio dialed into my favorite stations. I took incredible journeys in that old car, without ever leaving the garage.

And what, exactly, does this have to do with leadership? I have found that leadership seldom occurs without ownership. If you have no “ownership” in the task, the company, the vision, or the success, why lead?

Under the hood:

Owners VS Non-Owners:

• Owners take full responsibility
• Non-owners want authority but don’t take responsibility

• Owners have vision and passion and create their own path
• Non-owners do what they’re told and follow the crowd 

• Owners take immediate action
• Non-owners procrastinate due to fear

• Owners are not scared to make mistakes
• Non-owners worry about what others think

• Owners are self-motivated
• Non-owners need someone to push them

• Owners are resourceful and creative
• Non-owners can’t get outside the box

• Owners face problems but find solutions
• Non-owners have problems but they stay focused on them

• Owners embrace risk and receive the rewards
• Non-owners fear risk and have no share in success

If dad asked me to wash his car my response would be; “I don’t have time. I don’t want to. Maybe later, or the classic, “Are you gonna pay me?” But the “51” was always clean. The 3” wide white walls were scrubbed spotless, the chrome hubcaps polished to a mirror finish, but not once was I asked to do it. Ownership results in leadership.

The function of leadership is to produce more leaders not more followers. – Ralph Nader

Performance Tuning:

Take a minute and think about one or two people in your world that are ready to be invited into ownership. Your spouse? Your child? A team member? Give them ownership of something and their leadership will surface almost instantly.

This doesn’t mean you have no control or that you abdicate ultimate authority. I didn’t have a license so dad drove the car. It was parked in his garage and, as I was a minor, the title was in his name. But I “owned” it.

A year after buying the “51” for $800 my passion for ownership was solidified when I sold that gorgeous green machine for $1200!

Providing opportunities for ownership is the best way to accelerate commitment and leadership. When you begin developing leaders it will result in the acceleration of vision, strategy and success.

My dad, Jim, invited me into the world of “ownership” at a very young age and it has led to a life of leadership. In five, ten, thirty years from now, when asked, “How did you become the leader you are today?” who will mention your  name?

Lead Faster!

Jon Wright – Leadfoot Leader