I remember the advice careers advice my father gave to me many years ago, “make sure you perform well enough so you don’t stand out, but not so well you get given additional work for no reward”. Whilst it might have been a little tongue in cheek, the underlying message of, “stay in the pack” was clear. It wasn’t advice that I took to heart, he worked in an entirely different occupation in an entirely different time period, the sentiment behind it stuck in my mind – the fear of standing out.
Whilst not necessarily articulated in the same way, that fear runs through much of society and through organisations. Not just in terms of how we individually navigate the world, but how we do so organisationally too. I wonder how many corporate decisions each week are taken with exactly the same logic in mind? Stay in the pack, don’t be an outlier, don’t stand out.
This isn’t by any means critically judging those decisions, it is easy to see why when you look at how the court of public opinion judges those that don’t.
Make a loss – you’re poorly run. Make amazing profits – you should be taxed more.
Make a statement on a social topic – you’re woke. Don’t make a statement – you’re corporate drones.
And when societal moments like BLM or the post pandemic return arrive, the pack moves at pace like a herd of wildebeest on the plain and no organisation wants to be left behind in the jaws of the predator. Decisions are made, not on the best needs of the organisation, their workforce, or their communities – they’re made on not wanting to be outside of the pack. To not stand out.
There are many examples throughout corporate history and even over the last few years where organisations have got it wrong and individual leaders are blamed, called out and see their careers suffer thereafter. Sometimes it is causes long lasting damage to the brand and their commercial success. No wonder, sticking with the group is so appealing and embedded across corporate life.
Like so many other topics, it feels like this needs a long more thoughtful discussion than it will ever get. What do we want organisations to stand for? What topics do we want them to have an opinion on? Is it ok just to stick to the knitting? What matters most? But until that time, and I wouldn’t hold your breath, expect more conformity, more anodyne statements and God help anyone who gets it wrong.