We recently met with the Chief Human Resources Officer of a company known for being a flat organization with an approachable executive team that prides itself on transparency with its employees.

He related an interesting anecdote to us (we’re paraphrasing):

The CEO held a roundtable at one of the company’s offices, where he fielded questions about the business from employees of all levels. One lower-level employee had several questions for the CEO but seemed displeased with how the roundtable was playing out. The CEO recognized this and emailed the employee after the discussion, asking what was eating at him. The employee responded that he was dissatisfied with the CEO’s roundtable answers; the employee felt like the CEO was holding things back. The employee proceeded to list the concerns he had with several of the CEO’s answers during the roundtable. In reply to the email, the CEO addressed each of the employee’s concerns, making sure to explain everything to the employees satisfaction.

There are two interesting takeaways from the story: 1) the company has created an environment where employees of any level can feel secure in their jobs voicing their concerns to the CEO; 2) the company has created an environment where employees expect and clamor for transparency.

At first glance, some executives may cringe at what the company has brought upon itself. However, a deeper look reveals what the two items most importantly demonstrate: a sense of ownership among employees. And, while the company does have an employee stock ownership plan that technically makes each employee an owner, we’re talking about the much more important use of the term ‘ownership’: being emotionally invested in—and passionate about—the organization.