Why I like to have rebels in teams at work

Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM, said in one of her interview that we need disruptors at workplace to make our organisations more innovative, and that it is better to disrupt instead of being disrupted. I agree with her.

And I like to have disruptors and rebels close to me for few reasons:

- They tend to disagree with me. I’m not perfect, I don’t know everything, and from time to time I can be wrong ;-) . I like that somebody is questioning my thinking because in case I’m right, I can make my arguments better, stronger and more convincing.

- They help me keep my mind open for alternatives. I do not need to agree with them, but they inspire me to understand different perspectives.

- They have courage to say what they think knowing that others may not like their ideas. 

- They are nonconformists, ready to take risks, make unpopular decisions, and they are ready and mobilised to prove their ideas when they get a chance to do this.

- Usually they are top performers (at least based on my experience)

Having not only diverse team, but a real disruptor inside, is critical to drive innovation and creativity within the company. I learned over the years of working experiences, that those people - they really care about company, about work. They are willing to engage in a conflict, stand up and say something provocative, because they care. They care about better work quality, business outcomes, company growth more then they care about calm atmosphere or pleasing their bosses / team mates. 

Those rebels and troublemakers are key for building diverse, and open working culture. It is easier to manage teams if everybody agrees with everybody. Having a disruptor in a team, requires more mature, and open leadership style. Agile leadership, design thinking are some of tools and techniques which can help us to drive such culture within organisation. But leaders mindset is a key. It is a leader role to create an open working culture, where people are not afraid to share their ideas, no matter how crazy their ideas could, and where they are not punished for being too provocative.

With BIG THANK you for all rebels from IBM Technical Community - especially those from CEE - you make me so often feel uncomfortable ;-) , but in the same time you help the company to be more effective and more successful.