That’s how we must treat our work and call. When given a task – we take ownership of it no matter the outcome. When it fails, take the blame. When it succeeds, celebrate with the team.

This mindset goes deeper than responsibility. We were trained this way early on in life because my parents run a business. They showed us that we should be the first and last person out. For some, it’s just a job, but for our family – it is ownership.

The same principle applies to what I do now. Whether taking on a project, running a team, or doing ministry – I own it.

In leadership, we create a culture where everybody wants to own the vision. We cannot be business as usual. Putting our hearts into something is what’s required. When we start counting work hours, we will be like the majority who despise their job.

Owning your work and leadership is rooted in a deep love for what you do. It’s sacred for you, while it’s just a paycheck for some. Ownership should lead us to be emotional about our work. We must see our work as art to which we put our energies. We should not tolerate laziness and mediocre work and effort.

Leadership is a sacred trust and privilege. We are there to create a healthy culture for the best of the team and the organization. Leadership requires us to make hard decisions because it’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate.

We can talk about hard work and owning our work but if we tolerate people who don’t give it all they got- then it’s going to affect the whole team.

We call out our team members who don’t give their best. Yet, we are loyal to the calling of God and the work we signed up for. It requires us to take a good hard look at what is working and not working in our organizations because we want to make the dream work. It also forces me to leave my ego out of the door, knowing that I am working with others as passionate as I am in fulfilling the call of God for our lives.

My wife Thammie called me out one time about leading our boys. She said she needed me to say “I got this” when raising our boys. She was asking me to be accountable for my role as a father. I had to assure and tell her, ” No, we got this.”

Own it. Everything rises and falls on leadership.