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Sometimes at work, weird is wonderful

Let’s face it, some people are just plain weird. Our mothers may prefer “one of a kind” or simply “unusual,” but when someone defies traditional norms beyond a certain degree, that crosses into the weird zone. In a work setting, it can lead to real challenges. Most HR professionals and business leaders realize organizations are built around clearly established norms that define the institution. Once these norms are established, we instruct managers to enforce them. “You get what you tolerate” some say as they protect formally established behavioral standards. But what if a contributor is both weird and wonderful – a nonconformist capable of making a breakthrough contribution that others cannot approximate? Is it really a best practice to force him to change or leave? When is it wiser to put up with a little weirdness? Research shows a tendency for “breaking all the rules” distinguishes managerial greatness. Those perceived to be the best performing managers don’t normally try to “fix” defective people. Instead, they modify the job to better fit an individual’s uniqueness or quickly remove her entirely from the equation. More modestly performing mangers follow conventional wisdom to get everyone to conform to standards and norms. While “weird” comes in all shapes and sizes, “wonderful” is a bit easier to define. Someone weird is wonderful, and we should attempt to accommodate those when the following criteria are met: No laws or corporate values are violated. Norms are one thing, but laws and deeply held cultural values are another. Assuming your nonconformist can at least play by some basic rules, we can continue talking. The individual’s capacity to conform is negligible. If someone weird has the ability to conform without losing the essential essence of who they are, it would be easiest for all if they were to do so. On the other hand, if conformity proves either difficult or impossible, it might be worth bending the rules. Contributions consistently exceed the norm. As students of the Quality movement know, performing at a level two standard deviations above the mean would place our nonconformist in the top 2% of her peer group. This figure is purely symbolic, of course. Tying it conceptually to statistical variation, however, does help to focus attention on an individual’s inherent uniqueness or value. Potential contributions will break ground. When people with radical points of view have ideas so revolutionary they will fundamentally change a product or service, or spur a huge leap in productivity or profit, they are worth extra efforts to integrate and tolerate. It’s wise to spend time and money to help someone wonderful be less weird. Paying for individualized coaching, a group intervention or even a personal makeover is almost always better than hard wiring around eccentricities. Only do it if you feel the proposed action has a reasonable chance of success. Also, attempt to accommodate what you can’t cure. Remember that those with great gifts are often saddled with tremendous liabilities. Determine how much you are willing to flex and how long you’re willing to do so. So maybe you’ve got an outstanding contributor (or potential game-changer) who requires extra attention and saps your patience. Get over it. That’s why we need talented managers! Gary Markle is a senior vice president at Energage, a Philadelphia-based research and consulting firm that surveyed more than 2.5 million employees at more than 7,000 organizations in 2018. Energage is The Denver Post’s research partner for Top Workplaces.