The best business leaders surround themselves with rebels and disrupters, not a board of sycophants. They realise that better business outcomes happen more often from conflict and radical debate than consistent agreement. Business heroes, artists and politicians often fail when they start to believe their own hype.
Consider Phillip Green and Margaret Thatcher who both fell over when they cleared out their dissenters and were left to their own devices. They followed a common theme of rising to the level of success where they either weren’t challenged or refused to listen to those challenging them.
Rebels question the status quo and are instinctively contrary but, when managed properly, can be invaluable assets in any business. They make things happen, bring about change and can plant the seeds to transform entire organisations.
This article was authored by Gary. To read it in full, visit Business Leader.