When is deviance a good thing in workplaces?By Stephanie Oley

Good ideas are at the forefront of organisational change – which in turn is critical to business survival. But where do good ideas come from, and how can business leaders recognise them as they emerge?

For specialists in organisational psychology, the answer to that question often lies in positive deviants: individuals who just think differently.

Probe the word ‘deviant’ for a moment, and you’d be right in thinking this has negative connotations. After all, deviant workplace behaviour normally refers to issues such as deliberate lateness, repeated failure to complete tasks, or even project sabotage.

But what about deviation at the other end of the bell curve? This results in new solutions to problems, exceptional performance and innovation. Such thinking is called positive deviance. It’s been attributed to solving problems as diverse as public health, criminal justice, employee engagement and conflict resolution.

Where does positive deviance come from?

Positive deviance was first coined by nutrition researchers in the 1960s. It reached wider audiences in the 1990s with the book, The Power of Positive Deviance, written by former aid workers Richard Tanner Pascale, Jerry Sternin and Monique Sternin. The group described various health breakthroughs achieved from working with positive deviants in disadvantaged communities.

In the early 1990s, their not-for-profit ran out of funding and could no longer engage an expert to advise on food security for malnourished villagers in Vietnam. The Sternins and their team had to get creative. They observed that some local children were better nourished than others, despite being no more privileged. Upon investigation, the Sternins discovered that these children’s mothers were bucking against standard customs. For example, they were adding lowly sweet-potato greens to their rice, or feeding their children smaller, more frequent meals.

When the group trained other families to do the same, child nutrition outcomes improved a staggering 65 – 80 per cent for the village and elsewhere in Vietnam. This approach, of amplifying actions that worked rather than trying to fix what didn’t, was a simple yet radical shift in thinking.

The Sternins later continued their work in positive deviance elsewhere, finding sustainable solutions to other entrenched problems across the globe. These projects have helped improve survival rates for neonatal mothers in Pakistan, boosted school enrolment for girls in Lebanon, lifted employee engagement in various countries, and much more.

Positive deviance in modern business

Look at many innovations in the business world, and you could argue that positive deviant thinking has been a silent hero for some time.

Consider not being able to stream movies or films on demand, had firms like Netflix or Spotify not helped to legalise a formerly-deviant behavior and turn it into a high-value business. Imagine not being able to look up anything online for free, had the founders of Wikipedia not set out in 2001 to make such knowledge open-source, not held in the hands of encyclopedia publishers. Imagine being unsure of the ethics behind your favourite product or service, had deviant thinking not brought about fair trade, anti-slavery acts or ethical investing.

All of this change contrasts with the conservative nature of decision-making at many organisations, where precedent is everything and novelty is considered risky. Sadly, many organisations do not recognise the potential positive deviance has to transform business practices.

One of CCE’s presenters, Eleanor Shakiba, presents various courses on leadership, including The Psychology of Influence and Negotiation Skills for Professionals. Recently, she was running a leadership program in an engineering company. One of the participants said, "The laziest people sometimes have the best ideas". His tone was dismissive, so she asked him how he actioned those ideas. His response was that he just ignored them. This is an all-too-common response to positive deviance.

How to embrace deviant thinking in your workplace

Imagine the potential of a business that capitalised on positive deviance. It would have an energised, flourishing culture. Ideas would be captured in the moment and turned into solutions. Diversity would not just be a concept celebrated on International Diversity Day. It would be woven into the fabric of teams. Meetings would buzz with engaged conversation. Ideas would flow and people would flourish.

If this image excites you, explore the world of positive deviance. Here are five simple ways to get started:

1. Read The Power of Positive Deviance by Richard Tanner Pascale, Jerry Sternin and Monique Sternin.
2. The next time someone proposes an 'impractical' idea, explore it instead of dismissing it.
3. Scan your business for flourishing teams. Pinpoint what they are doing differently to everyone else. Then replicate their strategies and coach others on how to achieve their success.
4. Speak up when you have ideas that break the norm.
5. Ramp up your diversity program and review your performance management systems. Check that they actively support those who deviate from the norm in positive ways.

Whether it’s embracing hybrid working modes, removing unprofitable product lines or adopting sustainable practices, fresh ideas can make the world a better place. It's time to learn now, and join the ranks of the positive deviants.