Want to get the most out of your team members? Encourage them to be themselves.
Study after study shows that supporting individuality is good for business. Encourage your employees to be themselves.
One 2011 study of recent MBA grads showed that those who felt they could express their authentic selves at work tended to be more engaged and committed than those who couldn’t.
Another showed that teachers who felt they could express themselves consistently got higher ratings by their supervisors than those who couldn’t.
When you encourage conformity and discourage speaking out, you run the risk of stifling the creative spirit of your teams. But let your employees speak out—and even rebel once in a while—and their signature strengths emerge.
Being able to self-express makes for happier employees.
