The neighborhood in Phoenix where I grew up was a mixture of homeowners and renters. It was fairly easy to spot the difference between the two. Renters had what I call "bare minimum syndrome." Their attitude was, "Hey, I don’t own this, so why bother?" Some of the lawns were so high and unkempt they could have been on the list to be declared national wetlands - and we’re talking Phoenix here.

In my nine year-old mind, I likened most of them to where the The Munsters on TV lived.

Houses on my street that were owned were a different story. The juxtaposition between the rented and owned houses was remarkable — particularly when one was right next to the other. Simply put, owners cared. They cared about their lawns, their roofs, their plumbing, and the fact that the rented houses usually looked like - well- The Munsters’ house. That is why leadership matters.

Leadership is about ownership.

The best leaders create an environment of ownership in their organizations. They do this because they know if people feel ownership, they will care about what they do (and about what happens to the organization).

In coaching leaders, one of their biggest complaints is their employees don’t care enough about what happens to the company. The employees don’t see or do the things that would make a real difference.

Like the renters on my street, they don’t take care of the lawn or pay attention to the shingles falling off the roof. It’s normally at that point in my coaching that I talk about - you guessed it - The Munsters.

Here are a few ideas that you can use to instill ownership in your employees?

• Give people a voice and really listen to them

• Include people, as appropriate, in the decision-making process

• Hold people to high standards and celebrate victories

Creating a culture of ownership creates energy, innovation and yes, leadership. When people "drive by" your organization, they will immediately recognize that you and your employees are not renters.

Contact Dave Fleming, leadership coach for Greater Tucson Leadership, at dave@davefleming.org . Fleming, who holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, is an author, speaker and coach working with individuals and organizations to help position them for greater effectiveness and success. His website is http://www.davefleming.org .

Looking for leaders

Greater Tucson Leadership is taking applications from those who want to participate in its next adult leadership program.

The program is made up of 11 classes that meet all day on Fridays, Aug. 1 through Dec. 12. The classes are sessions where participants meet local leaders in government, social services, environment, health care, arts and culture, education, criminal justice, media and economic development.

Tuition is $1,250 and scholarships of up to $625 are available. The deadline to submit applications is June 6.

More information is online at Greater Tucson Leadership’s website: http://www.tucsonleadership.org/ .