Your team is working to different job descriptions

Hi Nik,

Ask your team what they own, and you'll often get as many answers as there are people. Nobody's doing anything wrong, each person is working to a slightly different version of their job. This week's finding comes with one question to ask in your next one-to-one, and it takes about two minutes.

This week in the field

Most leaders were promoted for hitting the number. And going from "me" to "we" is a big shift, whether you're about to make it, just have, or made it years ago.

One part of that shift nobody hands you is deciding who owns what. Roles tend to arrive with a title and a list of activities, not an outcome, so under pressure people do what they believe is expected, and those beliefs quietly differ. It shows up in the diagnostics I run: Ownership, the pillar this sits in, has been the lowest or joint-lowest of the four in 11 of 21 comparable sessions to date (B2B Culture Coach diagnostics, September 2026).

What it means in practice

When ownership lives in people's heads rather than in a sentence you've both agreed, work falls between roles, some people overstep and others hold back. And you become the default owner of everything that slips.

One thing to try

I created the CODE Performance System™ to give you clarity, and the tools to make it happen. This one comes from Playbook 2.1, Role Clarity and Expectations.

Before your one-to-ones this week, write one sentence for each person: "This role exists to deliver…", finished with an outcome, not a task list. Then ask them: "What do you believe you're accountable for, and how would you know you'd done it well?" Put their answer next to your sentence, and reset the first mismatch there and then.

Takes about 15 minutes to write, and two minutes in each one-to-one. You'll know exactly where work is falling through, and who owns it from here.

The question to sit with

If I asked your team what they own, how many different answers would I get?

Curious where you'd score on this? Take the free CODE Leadership Scorecard, five minutes, free.