When former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned after the recent emissions scandal, he noted, “I am not aware of any wrongdoing on my part.” Fortune magazine shared that despite accepting responsibility, Winterkorn distanced himself from the issue, failing to account for the power of his complacency.
Peter Bregman brings deep insights to this failure of leadership — and an alternative picture — in a recent Harvard Business Review article on the cost of conformity. As humans, we naturally conform to the behavior of those around us, unmooring our habits from our deeper values and matching them to our external environments. Bregman notes that, in a company of at least 583,000 people, more than a few people at Volkswagen needed to be tuned into the company’s wrongdoing.
However, the same instinct that drives employees to replicate each other’s work schedules motivates deeper conformity, even when it goes against ingrained morals and values. Bregman believes that the role of a leader is to escape, or even shift, this tendency to cave to peer pressure. “If we want to lead, then the real question — for you and me — is how can we resist the pull of conformity and stand courageously in truth and right?”
Bergman lists three steps to “live the values that make us and our colleagues trustworthy”:
- “The first step is to have clear, strong, and committed values. What do you believe in? And how resolutely are you willing to stand behind those beliefs? Are you willing to be vulnerable? To be embarrassed? To be disliked? To be fired? Powerful, trustworthy leaders answer yes to all of those questions.”
- “The next step is to want to see what is going on around you. Can you see it for what it is?”
- “Finally, you need the courage to act when something is going on that is out of sync with your values. To say something. To stand up to power, if that’s what it takes. And to do it skillfully, and with respect, so that you are more likely, not only to succeed, but also to preserve the relationships around you where possible.”
As with any important change, this process takes time and practice. Bergman suggests starting small — forgo that extra drink at dinner or show up early when you know everyone will be late. Get familiar with the discomfort of breaking the status quo at work and in your personal life. “When you do those things, slow down enough to feel its impact on you. Knowing that you can tolerate that feeling is the secret to escaping its hold on you. And that gives you the freedom to act in line with your values.”