Get your employees to take charge of their projects, and you’ll vastly cut back on the time you spend looking over their shoulders. Micromanagement might work for employees who are just beginning to exercise a new skill set, or stepping into new responsibilities with training wheels firmly in place. But once they know what they’re doing, it’s time to step back and let them take over. Creating a culture of ownership doesn’t just encourage flexible employees who are willing to take risks, it also strengthens the backbone of your entire organization. When every employee equates company success with personal success, trust and teamwork follow closely behind. Here are a few moves that can speed this process.

1. Reward or scold based on suggestions, innovations and intentions, not results. This is especially important for employees taking on new roles, for example, first time managers. If employees aren’t afraid to suggest and test new ideas and new skills sets, then test they will. If these ideas don’t succeed, self-directed employees will be better poised to take responsibility and actively learn from their mistakes.

2. Solicit feedback. Genuinely ask employees for their input and votes regarding new plans and policies. Nothing works better to build engagement and ownership.

3. Educate and train employees with the big picture in mind. Employees don’t just need to know how to do their jobs. They also need to understand how these jobs and tasks fit into the larger whole and help the company make money. Once they understand how their contributions support the entire team, they’ll be more willing (and better able) to identify problems and find solutions.

4. Communicate plans and expectations clearly. Employees may not know how to move the entire company toward a far-off goal, but try breaking this large goal down into smaller goals and divisions of labor. Then break each individual employee’s long term goals down into clear milestones. Then check in periodically to assess their progress toward these milestones and make sure they have all the resources they need in order to get there.

5. Include employees in company goals, and also company celebrations. Every time a successful product rollout takes place, or a new partnership is established, or a sales team breaks a record, let the feeling of celebration spread throughout the company. Announce the good news, and make specific praise and rewards into public events.

For more ways to keep your teams and individual employees personally focused on company goals, reach out to the Texas staffing pros at Expert.