Humans evolved as social animals with
“safety in numbers” as a core survival instinct. That’s why cultural conformity
is such a powerful force. It takes courage to go up against societal norms,
challenge the status quo, and take on the majority crowd and their widely held
beliefs. The threat of being isolated from the pack is a powerful deterrent.
And yet, we are perhaps the most adaptable creatures on Earth,
creating communities, organizations, cities and nations that support billions
of people in diverse and often harsh environments all over the globe. Our
unique adaptability has enabled us to scale, diversify and innovate.
Conformity and adaptability are not opposing but complementary
forces. One is not right, nor the other wrong. They exist side by side in
our makeup. A healthy balance enables individuals and civilizations to survive
and thrive, to maintain stability while moving forward at a reasonable pace.
At least that’s the theory. In reality we struggle over whether to
play it safe by following the pack or take a big risk and go it alone. We
debate whether to stay the course or pivot to a new trajectory. And we agonize
over whether to hold onto our core beliefs or consider different perspectives
that might offer tantalizing new insights.
While our political and business leaders shoulder a somewhat
unique burden – with so many impacted by their decisions and their actions –
each of us experiences this eternal struggle within ourselves. If we didn’t, we
would not be human and we would not be living in the real world.
In reality there is no such thing as a perfectly objective
viewpoint. It’s a contradiction in terms. But that never stopped anyone from
hanging onto his beliefs and perceptions long after he should have seen the
writing on the wall. And that never stopped anyone from holding onto decisions
and strategies that are no longer effective.
I don’t care how self-aware you think you are or how broad a
perspective you think you have. There will come a time in your life – many
times, in all likelihood – when that unwillingness to challenge your own
ideals, question the path you’ve taken and see things in a different light will
hold you back.
I’ve seen it time and again. I’ve seen it in political leaders whose
ideologies create dysfunctional governments and divisive cultures. I’ve seen it
in CEOs who can’t seem to understand why their companies have seen better days.
I’ve seen it in business leaders who cling to archaic methods in markets that
have moved on. And I’ve seen it in myself.
The same quality – adaptability – that allowed humans to progress
from cave dwellers to builders of the modern world enables each of us to move
forward and progress as individuals. In that sense, we are all leaders – if not
of governments, organizations and corporations then of our own businesses, our
own families and our own lives.
It takes courage to question what your associates and friends
believe to be true and risk being ostracized. It takes courage to stand up and
suggest what you know will be an unpopular view and risk being ridiculed. It
takes courage to tell it like it is, be the bearer of bad news and risk being
publicly eviscerated.
Indeed, it takes a lot of courage to diverge from the pack. But it
takes even more courage to risk upsetting the fragile applecart of carefully
constructed beliefs that give each of us the false illusion of safety and
stability. You need to have that courage. Not only is it worth the payoff, the
cost of giving into fear is too high.
Like it or not, we live in a complex and chaotic world. It’s as
true of microscopic molecules and organisms as it is of macroscopic
organizations and civilizations. It’s as true of the human mind as it is of the
cosmos. If you try to hold on too tightly, all the world’s wonders and riches will
escape your grasp.
Conforming may help you survive, but learning to adapt is the
way to thrive in an ever-changing world. The choice is yours.
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