I aspire to be a Respected Rebel. Colleagues, clients, and friends say I have a knack for turning processes upside down and challenging cultural conventions with powerful questions and bold ideas. My track record of disruption spans industries, organizations, and teams and I’ve learned a lot about what it means to lead change and transform communities from these experiences.

Job descriptions and special project codas often call for innovators who are ready to disrupt systems and processes in order to create a better, more productive way forward.

How do you expect to feel when you you disrupt a place and its people? What outcomes are guaranteed? What is unknown? How might you prepare for the awareness, problems, discomfort, and feels that surface because of what gets disrupted?

Positive outcomes from a disruption do not always correlate with short term good vibes.

As I sit her with the AstraZeneca vaccine disrupting my body by teaching it how to fight the real virus, I’m reminded that disrupting the way things happen doesn’t always feel great. Sometimes powerful people get pissed off. Oftentimes the folks whose identities are wrapped up in the status quo get loud and critical. Every now and then you lose allies and the capital that’s required to create more positive change.

How will you prepare to be the hero a community needs even if folks don’t want or like disruption?