Be Unique But Get With the Program

"We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people."
   --Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860)

Teenagers are my favorite people to watch. Their crusade to be different leads them to dress alike, talk alike, and act alike. They are uniquely the same. It's also a survival mechanism that leads to acceptance as well as the avoidance of getting whupped for standing out in a crowd and being too different.

I'm not sure that this phenomenon is any different in organizations. Let's face it: if expectations include cookie-cutter behavior, who wants to be the first to respond to a call for innovation, creativity, and risk-taking? In fact, it's probably difficult for people to believe that the request is even genuine.

How to Be Unique At Work--And Thrive

Your boss is looking for "better." Better methods, better revenue, better savings, better results, better quality. These give you two meaningful ways to show off your individuality:

1. What you produce that is different from anyone else's output (see "better" above).

2. How you go about doing it using your own methodology.

Once you're successful at those two, feel free to spike your hair, put rings in places they shouldn't be, and invite your boss to sing with you on company Karaoke night. We'll upload the photos here.

photo attribution: http://www.aeropostale.com/home

Comments

[twitter.com/GAStroz]

Steve, I like your idea of basically "earning" permission to be yourself (presuming "yourself" is in fact a bit different, maybe outlandish) by first focusing on delivering results. Nonconformance is terrific if the goal isn't simply to be, well, nonconforming. Focus on delivering value, and then the methods on how you do so can truly become your own.

[peter vajda]

"We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people."

And, many forfeit three-fourths of themselves in order to be liked by other people.

[Steve Roesler]

Hello, Greg,

Indeed, non-conformance for its own sake doesn't add anything to the mix unless you're attending a Woodstock reunion in which case, everyone at this point is actually conforming.

Some recent business conversations have surprised me. There are still folks who, although on board with the team notion of "What value do we deliver?" aren't asking "What value do I deliver?" Your point is a powerful one.

[Steve Roesler]

Peter, that could be the money line for the year. Indeed.