The owners will not likely be willing to have anyone who is not a stakeholder in the firm determine the level of quality that will be associated with themselves and their firm. The owners must lead. They are the ones who must provide the inspiration, direction, and motivation that moves the firm towards the achievement of whatever vision they have for it and for themselves. Others that display such characteristics immediately start looking like owners. Ownership Criteria Ownership responsibilities are not synonymous with criteria for ownership.
Responsibilities represent what the firm needs from the owners, either individually or collectively.
Criteria are those individual qualities that current owners establish as required, and then seek, when considering the addition of others to the ownership group. Some owners have a tacit understanding of what they seek. In other cases, however, the criteria can be extensive and explicit and could include any or all of the following. Both needs of the firm with respect to ownership responsibilities and many, if not all, of the criteria for ownership deal with leadership. The ability to encourage to others to mobilize toward a vision is the fundamental difference between leaders in a discipline who can achieve outstanding professional work but may not need others to accomplish it, and leaders who can move an organization.