It’s no secret that employee engagement is quite low in the US (32%) and even lower worldwide (13%). And according to Gallup, these numbers haven’t changed since the early 2000’s. The big question is ‘Why?’
Pixar and Harvard Business School (HBS) think it has to do with the fact that too many employees are expected to conform to the status quo. As a result, HBS estimates that less than 10% of employees work for company that regularly encourage non-conformity. As a result, people gradually lose sight of their individuality and their unique talents, resulting in lower engagement, productivity, and innovation. Not a good state of affairs.
In response to current workplace’s abundance of conformity, HBS has recently published a fascinating (and lengthy!) article discussing the perils of not letting employees ‘rebel.’ This article is a truly enlightening read and offers some innovative suggestions for leaders including simply ‘letting employees be themselves’ to ‘encouraging employees to bring out their signature strengths.’
We highly encourage to enjoy this article along with the companion video featuring Pixar’s CEO Ed Catsmull, who shares that as part of Pixar’s on-boarding process, new employees learn about Pixar’s shortcomings over the years so they taught right away that it’s ok to fail.
Click here to read the full article. And if you’re interesting in learning how your team can incorporate these leadership practices in your company, reach out to us.
