Think like an owner and watch your career take off

A version of this article originally appeared in Quartz’s Leadership newsletter. Sign up here to get the latest leadership news and insights straight to your inbox .

Kat Cole was a 17-year-old hostess at a Jacksonville, Fla. Hooters restaurant back in high school. When she turned 18, she worked as a waitress and a Hooters girl, where she spent so much time learning the ins and outs of the restaurant and its various jobs that she could eventually train new employees to do any gig in the building.

By age 20, she dropped out of college to open international Hooters franchises in places including Australia, Mexico, and Argentina. Cole was promoted to vice president at Hooters when she was 26.

At age 32, Cole interviewed for and was hired as the president of Cinnabon. Now 47, she’s the CEO of nutrition brand AG1.

Cole has casually referred to her rapid, youthful rise as simply being “curious and helpful.” But we can also call it what it’s been from the very beginning: thinking like an owner.

The professionals who rise fastest are those who behave like stewards of the entire business and step beyond their job descriptions.

So what does it mean to “think like an owner”?

• Accountability for outcomes. Ensuring that results move the needle on whatever metrics are most relevant to your job or organization, be it revenue, efficiency, or customer satisfaction.

• Taking action. Owners don’t wait for permission to improve a process or fill a gap. They anticipate needs and take smart risks.

• Resourcefulness. Solving problems with limited resources as entrepreneurs do.

• Long-term vision. Owners don’t only care about today’s deliverables. They care about sustainable growth, brand reputation, and customer loyalty.

Leaders can cultivate these traits in their teams.

Anna Szczurek started Arlington Heights, Ill.-based SkyLine Commercial Cleaning in 2007. She said that after 17 years of business, she’s learned that transparency about client relationships is what transforms employees into workers who think like owners.

“Instead of keeping client feedback private, I share every review — both praise and complaints — with our entire team during weekly meetings,” Szczurek said in an interview.

She also invited her cleaning crews to learn how much it costs to lose a client.

“The game-changer was when I started showing our cleaning crews exactly how client retention works,” Szczurek said. “When they understood that losing just one medical facility client costs us $3,200 monthly, our team began proactively reporting maintenance issues before clients even noticed them.”