Good Corporate Citizens Are Dangerous

Companies love Good Corporate Citizens. You know them, they never doubt the corporate strategy is the right one, never complain about their hierarchy, they always find the CEO "inspiring" and take pride in being positive.

GCCs blame or pity their colleagues and team members who dare to express any dissatisfaction with how things work – "immature" people that have to "grow" through better frustration management. Companies love those good soldiers and gratify them with all sorts of rewards.

Bollocks! It's about time we realize those people are dangerous. As companies need to reinvent their business at an ever increasing pace, internal challenge of strategies and tactics is an absolute necessity.  Management and leadership teams must open up to people who think differently and challenge the status quo.

GCCs will never bring this, for many possible reasons: their inability to see beyond the groupthink, simple (and very human) obedience to authority, lack of courage, personal career strategy...

Companies that value GCCs don't realize they are taking a shortcut towards extinction. Corporate Jurassic Park ahead! Full of well aligned, disciplined managers.

Hear me well: I'm not advocating anarchy here. Of course, legal and moral rules are to be respected, and it is normal to properly execute the corporate strategy. This requires some alignment.

But alignment isn't abdicating your critical thinking or creativity. Go on, think differently, explain, advocate, and fight for change! Companies' future depends on you, the disruptive thinkers, cynics and corporate rebels.  In upcoming posts, I will develop the idea of what we should be if not GCCs.

Want to have the best team? Reward the disruptive thinkers – not the obedient ones.

Want to serve your company, your boss, and make a difference? Don’t be a Good Corporate Citizen.