As parents, leaders, coaches, teachers, and mentors, we all want the same thing for the next generation: success.
By Jamie Cochran, Chief Operating Officer, Echelon Front
We want the next generation to be resilient. We want them to be confident. We want them to navigate challenges, overcome setbacks, and build meaningful lives. We want them to be prepared for a world that is changing faster than any generation before them has experienced.
The question is: How do we best prepare them?
I believe the answer is surprisingly simple: We give them the gift of ownership.
At Echelon Front, we teach the principles of Extreme Ownership, the book by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, to leaders and organizations around the world. We work with organizations of every size, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. We help teams improve communication, solve problems, build stronger cultures, and execute more effectively.
And while I have seen these principles transform organizations, the stories that impact me most are rarely those of corporate success.
The stories I remember are the personal ones.
One story, in particular, has stayed with me for years.
A young girl suffered a series of seizures and underwent a major surgery at just 11 years old. The surgery saved her life, but it left her with an enormous challenge. She had to relearn how to walk. She had to relearn how to talk.
Her father would read passages from Extreme Ownership to her while she recovered.
Most people would understand if an 11-year-old viewed herself as a victim of circumstance. Most people would understand if she accepted limitations or lowered expectations.
But she didn’t.
She chose ownership. She took ownership of her rehabilitation. She took ownership of her attitude. She took ownership of her future. Through discipline, persistence, and determination, she regained her ability to walk. She regained her ability to speak.
Years later, to celebrate her 18th birthday, she attended our two-day leadership conference, Extreme Ownership Muster, alongside her father. She was on her way to begin training to become an ENT. And she became one.
She had taken ownership of her story. That is the power of ownership.
Ownership does not change what happens to us.
Ownership changes what we do next.
The reality is that our children will face challenges we cannot prevent. They will experience disappointment. They will fail tests, lose games, struggle in relationships, face rejection, and encounter circumstances that feel unfair.
The question is not whether adversity will come. The question is how they will respond when it does.
If we teach them to blame, they will wait for someone else to solve their problems.
If we teach them to make excuses, they will surrender control over their future.
If we teach them that they are victims of circumstance, they will spend their lives focused on things they cannot control.
But if we teach them ownership, they gain something incredibly powerful. They gain control.
One of the most common misconceptions about ownership is that it means taking responsibility for things that are your fault. That is not what ownership means.
Ownership means taking responsibility for outcomes, regardless of fault. Ownership asks a different question. Others ask, “Whose fault is this?” Ownership asks, “What can I do to improve this situation?”
That shift changes everything.
I see it in my own children. I see it on athletic fields when a player stops blaming a coach or teammate and instead focuses on what they can do better.
I see it in the classroom when a student receives a disappointing grade and chooses to seek feedback, study harder, and improve.
I see it at home when one of my kids recognizes a problem and steps up to support the family mission instead of waiting for someone else to solve it.
Does ownership come naturally? Absolutely not.
The first reaction is often defensiveness. The ego wants to protect itself, and the temptation to blame others is strong.
But when young people push past those reactions and take ownership, something remarkable happens.
They discover they have more influence over outcomes than they realized. They discover confidence. They discover capability. They discover leadership.
That lesson is not limited to children.
At Echelon Front, I have seen frontline employees with no formal authority transform teams and organizations through ownership. I have watched entry-level team members identify problems, communicate effectively up the chain of command, and influence decisions that improved entire organizations.
They did not wait for permission to lead.
They did not wait for a promotion.
They took ownership.
And in doing so, they created positive change.
The future will belong to people who can adapt.
Technology will continue to evolve. Industries will change. Entire career fields will emerge while others disappear. The world our children inherit will look very different from the one we grew up in.
The specific skills they need today may not be the skills they need tomorrow, but it will always reward those who take ownership.
A young person who takes ownership can learn new skills.
A young person who takes ownership can recover from failure.
A young person who takes ownership can navigate uncertainty.
A young person who takes ownership can lead.
That is why I believe ownership is one of the greatest gifts we can give the next generation.
When we teach ownership, we are teaching the next generation that they are not powerless. We are teaching them that they have influence. We are teaching them that while they cannot control everything that happens around them, they can always control how they respond.
And that response has the power to shape their future.
Jamie Cochran, who is based in Virginia Beach, is co-host of the Lead. Win. podcast. For more information, go to echelonfront.com/lead_win_podcast. Cochran can be found on Instagram at Instagram.com/jamielynncochran and LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/jamie-lynn-cochran-5ab79013.
