Think on Behalf of the Brand, Not Like the Brand

By almost every measure, my family lived the American dream. My parents fled Cuba after Castro's revolution and immigrated to America in the 1960s, and my father built a successful career in corporate America. The formula was clear: work hard, follow the rules, fit in and you will be rewarded with security.

That formula was built for the age of standardization. For most of the last century, organizations were designed like assembly lines. People were expected to conform to the brand's identity, not bring their own. Individuality was traded for economic security, and for many families the trade seemed worth it.

But the cost of that trade has been adding up for a long time.

What Standardization Taught Me

I felt it at my first job. The company I worked for had the classic top-down, best-practice, fear-based culture common in the age of standardization. I was told I had to deliver results or I would be out in 30 days. There was a playbook, and the only things that mattered were the transaction and compliance. My father could hear the struggle in my voice.

To be fair, many of the standards I learned at that job, including attention to detail, daily reporting that elevated my sense of accountability and responsibility, and teamwork, have been critical to my success. But it was never about me. It was never about who I was or what I uniquely brought to the work.

Many people still work in that kind of environment. And I see that it bothers most of them.

The Question That Keeps Leaders Up at Night

Leaders at large organizations tell me some version of this all the time: "I know what I stand for. I know I want purpose and meaning in my work. But I don't know who I am. That's what keeps me up at night."

This is heartbreaking to me. The one person you must know in your life is yourself. Yet generations of standardization have taught people to define themselves through their employer, their title and their performance review. When any of those things shift, people are left without a foundation, because they never built one of their own.

Standardization also shapes how leaders lead. It produces a mindset that says: I believe something, so you must, too. I think something, so you must, too. I feel something, so you must, too. That mindset may create consistency, but it suppresses the individual thinking organizations now need most.

From Brand Identity to Individual Identity

We now live in the age of personalization. Customers expect products and experiences that reflect who they are. Employees expect the same from their workplace. They want to be seen as individuals with unique strengths, values and perspectives, not as interchangeable parts in a standardized system.

This doesn't mean abandoning the brand. It means changing the relationship between people and the brand. In the age of standardization, people were asked to think like the brand. In the age of personalization, the competitive advantage belongs to organizations where people think critically on behalf of the brand. They bring their own judgment, experience and identity to the work, in service of the organization's purpose.

That shift is the foundation of Leadership in the Age of Personalization. It starts by understanding the individual first, and then building cultures, strategies and growth around what makes each person distinct.

What a Culture of Individual Identity Looks Like

• Ideas flow across boundaries. People are encouraged to share ideas outside their department or function, because good thinking isn't confined to a job description.
• Different approaches are welcome. People can solve problems in ways that aren't standard, as long as they serve the goal.
• Questions are expected. Team members can challenge leadership goals without fear, because leaders understand that questions strengthen decisions.

Test Whether People Can Think on Your Behalf

Ask yourself, and then ask your team, whether people in your organization can honestly answer yes to these questions:

• Can I share an idea for another team or function and have it taken seriously?
• Can I use a non-standard method to solve a problem if it produces a better result?
• Can I challenge my leader's goals without it being held against me?
• Do I feel known here for who I am, not just for what I produce?

If the answers are no, your culture is still operating by the rules of standardization, whatever your values statement says. People will conform, but they won't contribute their best thinking.

Many in my father's generation made that trade because it was the model available to them. Today, leaders have a choice. You can keep asking people to fit the brand, or you can invite them to strengthen it with who they are. I'm hoping you choose the latter. The organizations that elevate individual identity will be the ones people want to join, stay with and build.

Want to explore these ideas further? Learn more about my work on leadership, identity and conviction at www.theglennllopis.com.