A manager once told me how he trusted his people are doing the right thing for the company. I challenged his statement by asking what evidence he had of this trust. He told me that his trust results from people conforming to the company’s process and behavioural policies.

When people are conforming, they aren’t necessarily doing their best work. Worse yet, conforming can be an illusion hiding behind-the-scenes activities. These things happen with conformance because people are concerned with pleasing their boss no matter how unproductive it seems.

The antidote to conformance is connection. The connection will help you understand people’s wishes, desires, passions, and fears. When you understand these things, they’re more likely to stop conforming and start talking about ways to improve their work.

You’ve got this.