Most professionals work in companies that do not encourage challenging the status quo. Most companies prefer employees who easily conform.
Francesca Gino, a professor at Harvard Business School, states that constructive nonconformity boosts one's career and enriches him personally. Individuals who practice this becomes an asset to the company.
As people go up in the ladder of their career journey, there is an increase in the pressure to conform. People tend to follow the bandwagon. Solomon Asch, a psychologist who studied peer pressure, demonstrated in the 1950s that 75% of people will choose the wrong answer just to belong to the crowd.
A person's perception of what is agreeable with others has a great determining factor on how a person talks, wears one's clothes, processes information, and whose views most peers agree with. However, a person becomes more successful and will feel fulfilled if he becomes genuine to himself and adopt constructive nonconformism. Quartz reported that the organization will largely benefit from this attitude.
A person must be courageous to be true and genuine. Here are the three steps that Gino recommends:
1. Contradict one's own assumptions. It is possible that a person might just be agreeing because he does not want to be labeled as a troublemaker. It is wrong to assume that it is difficult to speak up or disagree in meetings.
2. Learn from the past and apply it. It is not proper to just barge in into the office of the CEO and demand abrupt change. One has to know the correct procedure before pinpointing all the errors.
3. Begin from something simple. The way a person delivers his message is important. It is crucial that one knows how to raise concerns, issues, and considerations in a confident and yet polite manner.
Being a constructive nonconformist can create a better work environment. Be one.
