Do you feel like an ultimate owner of your job? How would you define ownership, what is your definition of its boundaries?
The Flight Training Lesson: A Story of Ownership
During my flight training, some time after the first solo flight, I came for a flight lesson and my instructor was not there. He called me and said "Listen, I had an emergency landing in Langenthal and I need you to fly over and pick me up". I went to the airport office and they were already informed, one guy from the office and another instructor went with me and helped to prepare an aircraft. After everything was ready an instructor - very experienced, season pilot - asked me a question - "Does the aircraft meet your expectations for a flight?"
It was kind of weird, he was after all much more experienced and knew all of it much better so why was he asking me for the opinion? He asked because there is a fundamental ownership rule in aviation - the ultimate owner on every flight is the pilot in command. He operates within strict regulations but ultimate responsibility for flight safety rests with him.
This experience gave me a confidence boost and a clear focus on the task at hand. It offers an ideal definition of ownership: like a pilot in command, fully responsible for decisions within a framework of regulations. As a manager if you ask people to fly but keep important decisions to yourself, you don't really give them an ownership. It is somewhat fake, you should not call it ownership, this is more like a crew membership without pilot in command ability to make flight critical decisions.
Aviation Metaphor of an Organisation
There are many metaphors of an organisation - I can picture another one - the aviation metaphor with the pilot in command at its center.
Imagine an organization as an aviation system. The key roles include building the aircraft (developing products), constructing airports (creating infrastructure), defining regulations (establishing policies), and providing air traffic control (managing operations). In this metaphor, pilots (employees) are given the autonomy to fly, making critical decisions within a supportive and structured environment. The pilots have ultimate responsibility, but they rely on a broader support system, just as employees do within a company.
An aviation-style ownership model has some specific characteristics, which can prove challenging in some contexts. The immediacy of decisions in aviation creates a unique environment that may not translate directly to all business settings. The extensive training required for pilots could be resource-intensive to replicate in other roles. This model may also face resistance in cultures valuing collective decision-making over individual authority. As organizations grow, maintaining clear lines of ownership can become increasingly difficult, especially in matrix organizations, where employees often report to multiple supervisors and work across various functional areas. Unlike the clear command structure in aviation, matrix organizations rely on collaborative decision-making and shared responsibilities.
This complexities could make implementing a "single pilot in command" model difficult, however the core principles of clear accountability and empowered decision-making could be valuable if thoughtfully adapted.
For reflection
Does this metaphor resonate with your understanding of ownership?
What do you need to feel that you are an owner?
What kind of organisations would benefit from the aviation metaphor?
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