Why do professional athletes so often take ownership for errors and misses, while in offices around the world, mistakes and mishaps devolve into blaming, bickering, and finger-pointing?

The difference beween teams that take ownership and those that don’t lies in structure.

Key Takeaways — Building Team Ownership

  • Ownership thrives where people feel safe to make mistakes and learn.
  • Shared goals drive collaboration instead of competition.
  • Belonging and mutual respect create commitment and effort.
  • When leaders model accountability, teams mirror it.
  • In organizations that create structures that support empathy and trust, a culture of ownership emerges.

Building Team Ownership is a Strategy

Nearly every leader I work with wants their team to take ownership of their work—and nearly all of them admit how difficult it is to make that happen.

They are right. It takes strategy, consistency, a dedication to making ownership safe. And yet, teams do it every day. Here are three quick stories from sports—where players publicly owned mistakes without blame or shame—and what every leader can learn from them.

Three Stories That Show What Ownership Looks Like

  • Trevor Hoffman, Hall of Fame pitcher and the first in the league to reach 500 and 600 saves, once said that when he blew a save, the person responsible was “the man in the mirror.” His wins were team wins, but his failures were personal. “Twenty-four other guys had worked their tail off to get the ball to you in that situation and you failed,” he told The New York Times in a 2024 interview.
  • Orion Kerkering, Phillies reliever, made a bad throw in the bottom of the 11th inning that cost his team the game. Asked about it later, he said simply, “Just a horses— throw.”
  • Chris Jones, defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs, didn’t put in enough effort on a key play and cost his team a game-winning touchdown. Interviewed afterward, he said, “It’s a teaching point for me—a little adversity.”

Why do professional athletes so often take ownership, while in offices, mistakes and mishaps devolve into blaming, bickering, and finger-pointing?

The difference lies in structure. Sports teams have systems that encourage people to take ownership. In contrast, most offices don’t. The good news: you can create the same conditions at work.

How to Build a Culture to Take Ownership at Work

Here are three proven ways to build team ownership at work.

1. Create a team culture that supports learning.

When mistakes happen, leaders can lower results by reacting emotionally. Some leaders get angry while others throw up their hands and tolerate poor performance. However, leaders who turn mistakes into learning opportunities build a culture where it’s safe to take risks and grow. Over time, this approach helps teams make fewer mistakes and take more ownership.

2. Set clear, measurable team goals.

Most offices are siloed, where each person is responsible for their own results. Sports teams are the opposite: every player contributes to shared goals. A baseball player’s sacrifice fly gives up a personal out for the team’s success. This can happen in an office too. For example, on sales teams where goals are commonly owned, salespeople work together to make aggressive goals. Team members are willing to sacrifice time and effort to assist another team member in a win. When workplaces define and align around clear, shared goals, that same dynamic emerges—people step up for each other, and silos break down.

3. Foster belonging.

On great teams, belonging runs deep. Players often describe their teammates as family—and it shows in their effort and motivation. The same is true at work. Gallup’s engagement research shows that two of the strongest predictors of engagement are friendship at work and feeling that others care about you as a person. When people feel that sense of connection, they’ll do anything not to let their team down.

Building Ownership Through Structure

Many companies are now learning from sports teams and adopting similar principles. Tech leaders like Google, Amazon, LinkedIn, and Microsoft use a structure first developed by Andy Grove at Intel: OKRs—Objectives and Key Results.

In this model, teams define ambitious, measurable goals, and every member aligns their personal objectives to contribute to the team’s larger goals. Managers reinforce connection and accountability through weekly one-on-ones that combine feedback, support, and inspiration.

Not every organization needs OKRs, but every team can use the principles behind them:

  • Set clear goals that matter.
  • Foster belonging and inspire connection to ambitious team goals.
  • Support a learning culture instead of punishing mistakes.

Ownership grows when people have clarity, connection, and confidence in their purpose.

Keep Learning

Read more about OKRs and where they come from in John Doerr’s book, Measure What Matters.

Join my free leadership workshop, One-on-Ones that Motivate, to hear more about the skills that help teams take ownership.

FAQs — Team Ownership

How do I get my team to take more ownership?
Start with structure: clear goals, learning culture, and belonging. When people know what’s expected, feel safe to try, and know they matter, ownership follows.

What do I do when someone won’t take responsibility?
Avoid blame. Ask what’s blocking them from succeeding and how you can help using the GOOD model of conversation. Ownership grows through trust and accountability, not fear.

Can team ownership exist without clear goals?
Rarely. Ambiguity kills ownership. People can only take responsibility when they understand the shared outcome and care about their teammates’ effort as much as they care about their own.

What’s the leader’s role in creating ownership?
Model it. Take responsibility publicly when things go wrong. Support you team members in doing the same by caring about them and letting them know they belong, even when they miss.

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