When is conformity useful and when is it harmful to individuals and organizations?
How can leaders strike the appropriate balance between conformity and nonconformity in their own companies and themselves?
As a way to explain the deepening employee-engagement crisis and firms’ failure to adapt to changing times, Harvard Business School Professor, Francesca Gino, studied various organizations in a wide range of industries – from software, entertainment, and financial services to valve manufacturing, food processing, and executive search - whose leaders encouraged nonconformity and urged their people to be themselves, use their signature strengths, and challenge the status quo. Using insights from behavioral economics and psychology, her research has identified ways in which leaders can attract and motivate talent to create much more innovative and productive workplaces, where people are engaged in their jobs and can contribute fully to improving their organizations.
