When employees lack the correct attitude, they are reluctant to complete their tasks or achieve the outcome. 
How to motivate employees:
<ul>
<li>Share the advantages of new strategies or approaches when you implement changes.</li>
<li>Create consequences for nonperformance. </li>
<li>Help them to understand the urgency. When you place a high-priority task on your employee's plate, ask if they can keep their current deadlines or need more time if you prioritise it.</li>
</ul>

Addressing nonproductive attitudes

<ul>
<li>Most employees believe they're ready for the next level when they've mastered execution. </li>
<li>Managers believe employees are ready for the next level when they've shown consistent results.</li>
</ul>
To help your employees perform according to your expectations, you need to identify whether your employee has the knowledge, skills, and attitude (KSA) to do their job.

Employees vs managers perspective

<ul>
<li>Your employees lack organisational knowledge if they still require supervision for tasks you'd like them to complete on their own.</li>
<li>Your employees lack an appropriate level of skill if they struggle to achieve efficiency, quality, and accuracy when completing their tasks.</li>
<li>They lack the necessary attitude if they show a lack of willingness or low motivation or require more incentive to complete their tasks.</li>
</ul>

Identify where your employee is falling short

When employees are asked to take ownership, it is an appeal to take responsibility for the tasks and the outcomes of those tasks.
However, telling your employees to take ownership doesn't always translate into clear action. 
For example, a sales employee may be tasked with prospecting and making the call, but their performance is based on whether they make the sale. This means that an employee can be doing everything they are instructed to do and still receive feedback about lack of ownership.

Taking ownership

<ul>
<li>Ownership is about proficiency. Encourage your employees to engage in continued learning.</li>
<li>Hire a trainer who specialises in a skill the team needs.</li>
<li>Recommend coaches, courses, and certifications for employees who need to increase their abilities in certain areas.</li>
<li>Provide opportunities for your employees to practice a skill and receive feedback on how they performed the skill.</li>
</ul>

Addressing inadequate skills

Employees that lack organisational knowledge should be encouraged to become independent.
<ul>
<li>When an employee is confused or uncertain about how to measure the success of an activity, encourage them to ask, "What's the outcome you're looking for?"</li>
<li>Instead of relying on you to answer all their questions, point your employees to documented processes in training manuals, onboarding documents, or internal information sharing systems.</li>
<li>Provide informal communication networks like Slack or Instant Messenger so employees can address uncertainties with their peers and not with you.</li>
</ul>

Addressing organisational knowledge

Telling your employees to "take ownership" is an ambiguous request. Here's how to identify where an employee is falling short, so that you can share clearer instructions instead.

Employees vs managers perspective

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