diff --git a/pkg/k8sutil/constants.go b/pkg/k8sutil/constants.go
index 0ac85c02cc2..52b6842cec7 100644
--- a/pkg/k8sutil/constants.go
+++ b/pkg/k8sutil/constants.go
@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ const (
 	KubeConfigEnvVar = "KUBECONFIG"
 
 	// WatchNamespaceEnvVar is the constant for env variable WATCH_NAMESPACE
-	// which is the namespace that the pod is currently running in.
+	// which is the namespace where the watch activity happens.
+	// this value is empty if the operator is running with clusterScope.
 	WatchNamespaceEnvVar = "WATCH_NAMESPACE"
 
 	// OperatorNameEnvVar is the constant for env variable OPERATOR_NAME
diff --git a/pkg/k8sutil/k8sutil.go b/pkg/k8sutil/k8sutil.go
index b0d0555151e..b5d82f12739 100644
--- a/pkg/k8sutil/k8sutil.go
+++ b/pkg/k8sutil/k8sutil.go
@@ -16,14 +16,19 @@ package k8sutil
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
+	"strings"
 
 	v1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	intstr "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/intstr"
 	discovery "k8s.io/client-go/discovery"
+	logf "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/runtime/log"
 )
 
+var log = logf.Log.WithName("k8sutil")
+
 // GetWatchNamespace returns the namespace the operator should be watching for changes
 func GetWatchNamespace() (string, error) {
 	ns, found := os.LookupEnv(WatchNamespaceEnvVar)
@@ -33,6 +38,21 @@ func GetWatchNamespace() (string, error) {
 	return ns, nil
 }
 
+// GetOperatorNamespace returns the namespace the operator should be running in.
+func GetOperatorNamespace() (string, error) {
+	nsBytes, err := ioutil.ReadFile("/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/namespace")
+	if err != nil {
+		if os.IsNotExist(err) {
+			log.V(1).Info("current namespace not found")
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("namespace not found for current environment")
+		}
+		return "", err
+	}
+	ns := strings.TrimSpace(string(nsBytes))
+	log.V(1).Info("found namespace", "Namespace", ns)
+	return ns, nil
+}
+
 // GetOperatorName return the operator name
 func GetOperatorName() (string, error) {
 	operatorName, found := os.LookupEnv(OperatorNameEnvVar)
@@ -51,7 +71,7 @@ func InitOperatorService() (*v1.Service, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	namespace, err := GetWatchNamespace()
+	namespace, err := GetOperatorNamespace()
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/leader/leader.go b/pkg/leader/leader.go
index 4b977f9c028..38304136d03 100644
--- a/pkg/leader/leader.go
+++ b/pkg/leader/leader.go
@@ -18,11 +18,11 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
-	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
-	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk/pkg/k8sutil"
+
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	apierrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ const PodNameEnv = "POD_NAME"
 func Become(ctx context.Context, lockName string) error {
 	log.Info("Trying to become the leader.")
 
-	ns, err := myNS()
+	ns, err := k8sutil.GetOperatorNamespace()
 	if err != nil {
 		if err == errNoNS {
 			log.Info("Skipping leader election; not running in a cluster.")
@@ -144,21 +144,6 @@ func Become(ctx context.Context, lockName string) error {
 	}
 }
 
-// myNS returns the name of the namespace in which this code is currently running.
-func myNS() (string, error) {
-	nsBytes, err := ioutil.ReadFile("/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/namespace")
-	if err != nil {
-		if os.IsNotExist(err) {
-			log.V(1).Info("current namespace not found")
-			return "", errNoNS
-		}
-		return "", err
-	}
-	ns := strings.TrimSpace(string(nsBytes))
-	log.V(1).Info("found namespace", "Namespace", ns)
-	return ns, nil
-}
-
 // myOwnerRef returns an OwnerReference that corresponds to the pod in which
 // this code is currently running.
 // It expects the environment variable POD_NAME to be set by the downwards API