# The Right Way to Manage Rule Breakers

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hbr-ideacast-650643/the-right-way-to-manage-rule-breakers
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hbr-ideacast-650643/the-right-way-to-manage-rule-breakers.md
Podcast: [HBR IdeaCast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/hbr-ideacast-650643)
Published: 2026-06-16T11:11:26+00:00
Episode link: https://hbr.org/podcast/2026/06/the-right-way-to-manage-rule-breakers
Audio file: https://audio.hbr.org/ideacast/20260615140711-TheRightWaytoManageRuleBreakers.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/hbr-ideacast-650643/episodes/the-right-way-to-manage-rule-breakers
Duration seconds: 1250

## Resource

Most leaders assume that when employees break rules, punishment is the answer. But according to researcher Michael Gill, associate professor at the University of Oxford Saïd Business School, that mindset overlooks a crucial reality: not all rule breaking is self-serving, and some of it may actually help organizations perform better. He explains his research synthesizing more than 250 studies and details the four main motivations behind why people break rules, why repeated violations may signal deeper organizational problems, and how leaders can distinguish harmful misconduct from employees trying to help customers, colleagues, or the business itself. Learn more in the HBR article How the Best Leaders Respond to Rule Breaking.

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## Transcript

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