Individuality

What does individuality mean as a core value?

Individuality as a core value means being recognisably your own person, with tastes, opinions and a path through life that you’ve chosen yourself, whatever the crowd is doing.

What does individuality look like in practice?

• You take the less common route in a career, a holiday or a home.
• You hold a minority opinion in a meeting without needing others to join you.
• You feel uncomfortable when a team culture expects everyone to think and dress alike.
• You look out for the unusual person in a group and make them feel welcome.
• You go off a band, a brand or a place once it gets too popular.

When is individuality overplayed?

Standing apart can become a reflex. You might reject good ideas because they’re mainstream, keep yourself on the edge of groups that would welcome you, or define yourself mostly by what you aren’t. Belonging can start to feel like a threat. In balance, it is secure enough to be ordinary sometimes. One small experiment is to join in with something popular you’ve dismissed, and notice what it’s actually like.

Often confused with

Questions to sit with

1. What do you avoid simply because everyone else likes it?
2. Which group have you kept at arm’s length to protect your sense of being different?
3. What part of your individuality would remain if nobody was watching?