How Radical Ownership Empowers and Activates Growth.

Let's get real. When things go wrong and you feel overwhelmed, there is usually something or someone to pin the blame on, yes? Be it your organisation's red tape, a last-minute change from your manager before a launch, peers not showing up, or being frustrated by the lack of structure in the project. Extend beyond the workspace, and there is a larger circle of scapegoat choices, such as family grievances, the government, or the rise in prices.

Radical ownership, the practice of taking full responsibility for every experience and outcome in our lives, is a game-changer. Note that I am not saying "take control and fix" the situation. Quite the opposite. I am inviting you to see how your external reality is simply feedback, showing you where you can shift your own inner landscape to minimise energy depletion and stress.

A 2018 study published in Psychological Bulletin suggests that resisting the way reality is showing up (e.g. avoidance or blame) creates a feedback loop of stress and depleting energy that could be used for adaptive responses. Accepting outcomes as feedback reduces this resistance, conserving energy for growth and activating curiosity.

It starts with perception

“The moment you change your perception is the moment you rewrite the chemistry of your body.” — Dr Bruce Lipton

The groundbreaking work of Dr Bruce Lipton, a developmental biologist best known for his work on how thoughts, beliefs, and environmental factors influence gene expression, tells us that our cells can only be in one of two states. Either it is in protection or it is in growth. When we focus our attention on what isn't working, become a victim to our circumstances, and resist taking responsibility for what is in our control, we lose our power and increase our stress defences unnecessarily.

Lipton’s work in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly his research on cloned human stem cells, demonstrated how environmental signals, mainly perception, influence cell behaviour and gene expression. In other words, if you want to shift your state of affairs, especially your health and wellbeing, start by owning and shifting your perception of that situation. It starts within.

The frustrations we feel on a day-to-day basis about where our world is heading are feedback signals showing you where you have a belief, thought, or emotion that is unaligned to reality. I'm not saying you're wrong. I believe we must validate our thoughts and feelings. The trouble comes in when we attach to these thoughts and feelings as real and true, fighting for them. And given that reality is so much wider, impermanent, and more complex than your limited mind can comprehend, the chances of your perception being wholly right are rare.

A few questions to ask yourself to transform your perception include:

• "How else can I see this situation?"

• "What else is possible here?"

• "What am I not seeing right now?"

• "How can this situation work in my favour, to become a gift or opportunity?"

• "What do I know to be absolutely true here?"

• "Who will I end up being if I continue holding this perception?"

• "What possibilities emerge if I release this perception?"

Translating the feedback

Every situation, whether a triumph or a challenge, serves as feedback, reflecting what is within you that needs acceptance, release, or calibration. Radical ownership is about self-awareness, not self-blame. A missed deadline, a strained relationship, or a business setback isn’t “happening to you”. It is not a punishment either. This mindset places you as the victim of your circumstances, and, again, it drains your power and energy. What if life is actually working for you?

Feedback is a mirror reflecting an aspect of your internal state that requires your attention to create balance and alignment with what is true. Perhaps it’s unaddressed fear, a need for clearer boundaries, or an outdated belief system. By viewing these as opportunities for growth, you can calibrate your inner world to create external alignment. You do this in a number of ways, namely:

Reflect on patterns

Ask, “Where else in my life has this shown up before?” Record specific occurrences of similar emotions or circumstances in your journal. This will reveal any outdated patterns you carry that need to be released. Recognising patterns reduces repetitive outcomes, allowing you to address root causes and experiment with new approaches.

Reflect on stagnant beliefs

Notice any emotions or beliefs emerging around your situation and jot these down. For example, a sales pitch rejection might reveal self-doubt. Self-doubt is feedback possibly suggesting a lack of value placed on oneself. Reframe this thought into a more powerful statement, such as, "Every rejection is a step toward mastery”.

Know your core worldview.

Your main lens of the world is considered your worldview. Your worldview serves as the foundation upon which all your perceptions are built. Knowing your core worldview is a powerful way to cut through the stories that limit you. The best method to explore this is through your Enneagram type. Based on your dominant type, your worldview, core fear, and blindspots become clearer, clarifying what is true and what is mere distortion.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” — Aristotle

Reflect on your resistances.

Avoidance behaviours increase fatigue by 20-40% (Psychological Bulletin, 2018). When struggling with a situation (e.g. your team’s underperformance), ask, “What am I avoiding that could completely shift this outcome?” Write down any fears or truths you might be dodging (e.g. admitting your unapproachable leadership style that invites you to open up more to your team's ideas). Very often, the obstacle is the way and navigates you into your greatest potential.

Understand how you're profiting.

You remain a victim of your circumstances when you are subconsciously profiting from being the victim. In other words, your survival instinct believes your current approach is somehow safer for you. Ask, "How am I being complicit to the outcomes I say I don't want?" E.g. If you are continually bullied by peers to do things their way, perhaps abandoning your ideas helps you avoid conflict. Giving in to their ideas ensures team harmony, while standing your ground brings the risk of being rejected.

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” — Anaïs Nin

Turn profit into purpose

The freedom of radical ownership lies in its simplicity: you are the common denominator in every experience. This empowers you to change the narrative. The challenge? It requires courage to face your inner world; your fears, blind spots, and vulnerabilities. But the reward is profound: a life and leadership style aligned with purpose, where challenges become catalysts for growth.

It is a lifelong practice, but its impact is immediate. By taking responsibility for your inner world, you transform how you show up as a leader. A client of mine, an Enneagram Type 1 CEO, once blamed his team for poor performance. Through Enneagram work, he recognised that his perfectionistic tendencies stemmed from a fear of being defective. By owning and addressing this, he was able to place more trust in his team, allowing for more delegation and thus boosting morale and productivity. His business grew 8% in nine months – a direct result of inner calibration.

“Freedom is taking ownership of your own life, your own decisions, and your own outcomes.” — Anita Moorjani

Employees, when encouraged to take radical ownership, can experiment with their authentic value, see how their decisions impact the whole system, and impact every stakeholder more positively. They can recalibrate when feedback is grim, and they can take more initiative for the outcomes they desire, fostering a healthier and more innovative culture.

The more we micro-manage and enforce strict structures in our culture, the less our teams can take full ownership. Being curious and open to your challenges unlocks the same possibility for your teams. As leaders, your internal state is your greatest asset. Taking responsibility for this will prove to be the wisest investment of your time and energy.