Balancing best practices and standardization with employee ownership and buy-in is a nuanced leadership challenge.
The following simple math formula illustrates the value of navigating this leadership challenge effectively:
The ratings are 1- 10. The highest rating is 10.
Effectiveness formula: Doing the right thing * Employee ownership equals Maximum results
1st Scenario:
A leader who lets employees run with their best or preferred ideas or doesn’t have any accountability to a best practice:
5 * 8= 40
A leader who allows all employees to run a plant on their preferred method is trying to drive a high result in the ownership rating. This leads to everybody doing their own thing, which drives down the best practice application or “best methods”.
Or A leader who shares an expectation on what and how to run the plant, but there is no measurement, accountability, or positive recognition for following the expectation. This also ensures best practices aren’t being followed.
Without metrics and positive accountability, and involvement, the standards of excellence will not be followed. Each operator will run the plant according to their preferred method.
A leader who shares the results desired and involves the employees in the “how” or how to develop the Standard operating procedure:
10 * 8= 80
A Leader who implements a best practice and obtains ownership from his employees on the “How” of the standard best practice will get a significantly better business result.
The leader still may have to make “tough decisions” based on varied input, but if done with “careful listening” to all input and then deciding on how to operate for the first period of time will find that the ownership and commitment are still very high.
How do we get both “the right thing” for the most effective results and employee buy-in and followership?
How to balance standardization with employee ownership
- Start with the “Why”
- Clearly communicate the purpose behind standardization—whether it’s improving decision quality, reducing risk, or scaling operations.
- When people understand the why, they’re more likely to support the how.
- Define the “What” and Leave Room for the “How”
- Standardize outcomes, results expectations, or guardrails, not every step of the process.
- Co-Create Standards
- Involve employees in developing best practices rather than imposing them.
- Use workshops or cross-functional teams to gather input.
- This builds ownership and ensures standards are grounded in reality.
- Strong Leadership
When there are various and potentially conflicting views on what is “best practice”. The leader needs to listen carefully to all views and then decide and ask for “trial” alignment and support.
- Ensure Feedback and change management
- Create feedback loops where innovations can be shared and potentially adopted as new best practices. Eg. In 90 days, we will revisit the Standard Operating Procedure and improve it with your feedback. Or every week at our weekly metrics review, we will build action plans to follow the best practice or revise them.
- Use Data to Drive Implementation
- Use metrics on results and how standardization is being followed. Have a weekly review where results for standardization are shared, discussed, and action plans are developed to improve. Have employees present the metrics (with data collection support) and action plans
- 6. Recognize and Reward Engagement
- Celebrate teams that embrace standards or improve them.
- Recognition reinforces that ownership and standardization are not mutually exclusive.
Potential application areas:
- When deciding on the best practice for running a multi-shift plant
- When deciding how to reduce costs in your business
- When deciding how to improve production, productivity, or throughput.