Engagement and Ownership Are Not the Same

Like everyone else, we used to talk about employee engagement.

Then we realized we were talking about the wrong thing.

Engagement means different things to different people. What most firms call engagement really means not disengaged. Showing up. Doing the job. Not causing problems.

Here's the problem. If the goal is 10X business results, you can't get there with teams that are merely not disengaged. That requires something else.

10X results require ownership and initiative. Team members acting with confidence and curiosity to build something great. That is a different level entirely, and there is only one way to reach it: team members have to trust their leader. Specifically, they have to trust that their leader has their back when they fail.

Only 19% of employees strongly agree they trust their leadership. That means most employees don't feel safe enough to take ownership.

Now the other half of the picture. 86% of leaders believe their employees' trust in them is high.

Let that sink in. A 67-point gap between what leaders believe and what employees experience. Is it any wonder one of the most common complaints we hear from leaders is that their people won't take initiative? They won't, because they can't afford to.

There is a path forward. Transformational trust, the kind that transforms people, culture, and business performance, is within reach of every leader. It requires a change in mindset, not a change in personnel.

To learn more, get the book, Transformational Trust.

Sources: Gallup, August 2025; PwC Trust Survey, 2024