How To Fight Conformity Culture With Risk Culture
You’re in a meeting, and you feel like you want to pitch a wild solution to a long-time problem – but you know as soon as you open your mouth, your co-workers will roll their eyes at your lofty ideas. Next, you think your team is being saddled with too much work for their current bandwidth, but no one seems to be saying anything. When you ask a teammate if you should tell your boss, they cringe with fear. If these moments sound familiar, you might be stuck in a conformity culture. And there’s only one way to fight it – read on to find out how.
What is conformity culture?
Conformity is behavior that fits in with standards set by social norms. And conformity culture rewards workers for behaving according to social norms set by the organization. This can come in a few forms – the pressure to work at certain hours, wear certain clothes, communicate using a certain tone, or earn a certain amount of money. If your conformity culture is one in which no one asks for raises, then asking for a raise would be seen as a breach of that culture, and your co-workers may shun or look down on you.
Conforming isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as sometimes, employees conforming to a culture already in place can provide them with a sense of security, stability, and structure, especially when having hard conversations. But it can go wrong when conformity is seen as a benefit above all else.
The problem with conformity culture
One of the first problems with conformity culture is when employees feel they must start acting a certain way in response to group pressure. This could make employees feel helpless or hopeless, or inhibit them from saying what’s on their minds. They cease to ask questions and be curious for fear of angering those around them, and their work suffers – which ultimately impacts the company at large.
Additionally, lowered levels of diversity arise when conformity culture is at play. While some companies might have a diverse workforce in terms of different ethnicities and races, their attitudes and approaches to problem-solving are all heterogeneous. This takes away some of the more fun aspects of critical thinking, debate, and discourse, which can improve workflow and give certain companies a more competitive advantage. Eventually, employees become uninterested and less curious when they realize their out-of-the-box suggestions won’t be taken seriously.
Lastly, conformity culture can feel inequitable – like some workers are valued more than others. Conformity culture on a team can mean that one employee typically gets credit for others’ work, and it’s not spoken about or brought up to managers. It can also mean that some workers are expected to work for a different salary than others, regardless of similar titles.
Confronting conformity culture
There’s only one way to make sure that conformity culture isn’t taking away from your group dynamics – and that’s taking risks. Risk culture is the opposite of conformity culture, as it values taking chances and thinking critically more than anything else. Employees are encouraged to work with the system to get what they want – imploring bosses for more work, being transparent with co-workers, or asking for a raise.
Many companies (especially HR departments) cringe when they hear the word risk, as it indicates something that could potentially result in a negative outcome. But risk culture isn’t about being careless. It’s about empowering employees to feel that their voices are heard. Because though conformity culture seems safe, it can actually drive your more thoughtful and passionate employees away.
4 ways to fight conformity culture with risk culture
1. Speak up
It only takes one domino for the rest to fall, and you could be the one that lets your teammates know it’s okay to think differently. Speak up in a meeting by posing a new idea, and even if you get some incredulous glances, don’t’ stop speaking your mind. Either you’ll discover that this workplace isn’t for you, or you’ll start to see other people joining you, changing culture from the inside out.
2. Talk to leaders
Leaders are responsible for building and propagating culture in the first place, so it’s important that they know if things could be better. It’s entirely possible that a sweet but demanding manager could have started a conformity culture without even realizing it, and employees are too afraid to bring it up. If you have personal anecdotal experiences to share with your manager or boss, such as feeling pressured by others to think or say certain things, go to them if you think they’d be receptive to dialogue. And if they’re part of the conformity culture themselves, tread lightly, as you don’t want to burn any bridges.
3. Build trust
Making sure your teammates trust you is one of the most significant factors in an excellent risk-oriented culture. If you’re making tough calls and asking for things you never have, it’s vital to have someone in your corner, ready to go to bat for you if need be. Even just one person you can run a risky email by or talk about a challenging conversation with can benefit your risk-taking. And the more people you have on board to eschew conformity culture, the easier it’ll be to transition.
4. Always progress
Looking to the future is the best way to break away from the past, and even if conformity culture is holding you back, you can still find ways to have a personal purpose-driven sense of responsibility at work. Try to find moments throughout your workday where you can focus on individual projects that don’t necessarily require anyone else’s input and leverage your personality with your conforming work persona. While it’s easier said than done, if you find your company culture suffocating or overwhelming, you can try your best to make some individualized work-oriented goals that put yourself first.
