I think one of the most important elements in career advancement, leadership and business success is that of ownership. By ownership, I don't mean the kind of financial stake you have in the business. That kind of ownership simply gives you the opportunity to share in the benefit or risk of the enterprise.

Instead, there is another form of ownership that most successful leaders demonstrate, a form of ownership that will cause others to sit up and take notice of who you are and what success skills you bring to the table. Demonstrate this form of ownership and you will be able to workaround any number of issues that get in the way as well as add to your career advancement scorecard.

All too often, technically competent managers fall short of the ownership mindset required to both advance and succeed. Instead, these managers are very good at finding fault, blaming others for the roadblocks or complaining about the lack of competence of other groups. The absolute worst thing about these kinds of managers is that they are often right! There are roadblocks out there and sometimes other groups aren't performing as they could or should.

However, the ability to point out what is wrong, missing or at fault rarely enables the organization or the individual to move forward. In fact, this kind of management approach can wind up slowing the organization down as people hunker down trying to avoid the finger of blame. A senior executive at Northrop Grumman made the point to me this way as we were seeking to get a complex satellite program back on track: "Too many of our managers seem fixated on affixing blame when issues arise rather than fixing the underlying problems. We waste so much time covering our tails when we could be moving the program forward."

If this sounds familiar, here's a surefire way to work around the blame game and to get things moving in your organization. It's also a surefire way to help you stand out in terms of your ability to produce results.

The next time you are confronted by a problem, a roadblock or less than cooperative team, adopt the ownership mindset. The ownership mindset will examine any problem requiring a workaround from two points of view: What can I do to make a difference all on my own and what could I do to make a difference if I had approval, support or cooperation?

Eschewing the somewhat natural tendency to complain or blame, the ownership-oriented manager will tackle the problem head on, and then seek to influence others with a powerful three point approach:

1. Here's the issue we are facing and why it matters.
   
   
2. Here's what I have done on my own to make a difference.
   
   
3. Here's what we could do to be even better if we had approval, support or cooperation.
   
   

The ownership-oriented manager or leader can use the same three-point approach to turn the blamers and complainers around as well. All you need to do in this instance is to turn those three points into questions for the blamer/complainer:

• What is the issue?
  
  
• What could you do to make a difference on your own?
  
  
• What could you do with support, approval or cooperation?
  
  

By demonstrating this kind of ownership mindset, senior leaders in your organization are very likely to take notice of you for two reasons: You are demonstrating skillful thought in how to workaround difficult situations and you are demonstrating the accountability mindset leaders are eager to discover.

Managers who are willing to "own the solution" turn into great leaders, not because they are always right, but because they are willing to bring others into the solution. Leaders who are willing to "own the solution" run great businesses, not because they have all the right answers, but because they have the ability to inspire others to own the situation as well and thereby access many great solutions.

Russell Bishop
Russell Bishop is a recognized expert in personal and organization transformation, founder and president of Bishop & Bishop, a consulting and coaching company, and the author of a new book, Workarounds That Work: How to Conquer Anything That Stands in Your Way at Work. Additionally, he is senior editor-at-large for the Huffington Post.

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