I recently took a three-week break from work and this blog to tour the east coast with my family. Now that I’m back, I thought I’d start with an article inspired by one of the stops on our journey: Boston. Boston is known for many things, but at the top of the list is what happened on December 16, 1773: The Boston Tea Party. The Sons of Liberty protested taxation without representation by destroying an entire shipment of tea from China by the British East India Company. This single act of defiance was the tipping point for the American Revolution that would shortly follow.

I have rebellious blood

All Americans can identify with this act, but my connection is even more personal. My Sixth Great Grandfather is Benjamin Edes, publisher of the Boston Gazette and member of the Sons of Liberty. Most notably, he was among the rebels that destroyed the tea that fateful night.

I became aware of my ancestry about twenty years ago when my grandmother did the legwork to research our family linage. I often think about it when I am confronting modern challenges. There’s a rebellious streak in me. I fight for what I believe in and challenge what I believe to be wrong. Had I lived in Boston in 1773, I very well may have been on that boat committing treason with my fellow countrymen.

A rebel in enterprise technology

How does this translate into technology leadership? My career has been filled with conflict and change. I press forward. I drive change as effectively as I can. I am optimistic about the kind of organization we can become. I see possibilities and potential in people and ideas. At the same time, I see fear, complacency, and tradition in our way. These need to be conquered and rebelled against.

Prior to joining CHS, I worked for a subsidiary of a large company. Being embedded in the business unit, I often felt the corporate enterprise overbearing on what we were trying to accomplish. My group was small and powerless compared to the behemoth corporate headquarters. We were fast, agile, and cutting edge. Corporate felt slow, risk-averse, and controlling. I saw many in my position simply do what they were told, and follow the lead of the corporation. After all, they owned us.

I just couldn’t do that. We had built something remarkable in the industry and the business needed to be agile to survive. I was proud of the culture and technology we built and was willing to fight to defend it. Fortunately, things never escalated to the point of corporate treason, but I often found myself in high-stakes, high-tension discussions with powerful people.

How to be a rebel

The destruction of the tea in Boston harbor wasn’t the first plan. The Sons of Liberty used every negotiation and political tactic available to send the unloaded ships back to England. They delayed as long as possible. Even when they acted, they did so with principle and precision. The Boston Tea Party was completely bloodless.

Benjamin Edes published the newspaper, the Boston Gazette. Last week, I got to hold original copies of his weekly issues from December 1773. Each week, Edes and other patriots wrote articles criticizing the British government and rallying for change. It seems like I also inherited my weekly leadership blogger genes!

Rebelliousness as a trait can sometimes conjure thoughts of being irrational, temperamental, or reactionary. True rebels are passionate but controlled, driven yet empathetic, and forceful yet diplomatic. Be a rebel, but don’t be a bully.

Think about our forefathers that fought tyranny. Let their courage inspire you to take action. What old power structures need to fall? What old processes and methodologies need to change? What legacy technologies need to die? Identify something. Let your conviction drive you lead a rebellion.