How to distinguish a toxic instigator and a rebellious dissenter in your team?

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I’ll do it myself

Eric Yuan grew up in the 1970s and 1980s in Tai’an, a city nestled between Beijing and Shanghai. After graduating in 1997, he moved to Silicon Valley, just as the internet revolution was taking off. There, he began talking to the startup WebEx, eventually becoming one of its first 20 employees and playing a pivotal role in developing its online meeting software.

WebEx grew rapidly, and Yuan’s career progressed with it. When Cisco acquired the company roughly a decade later, Yuan became Vice President of Engineering. Because he regularly engaged with customers, he was keenly aware of their dissatisfaction and had ideas for how to improve the service.

Yuan presented his vision to Cisco’s leadership, but was repeatedly shut down and told he was wrong. After many unsuccessful attempts to push for change, he realised he had no choice but to leave. In 2011, he founded his own startup: Zoom. Around 40 engineers from his former team chose to join him. Today, Zoom has far surpassed Cisco WebEx in terms of success.

Know-it-all or critical thinker?

To Cisco’s senior management, Yuan came across as a know-it-all. They failed to see that his concerns came from a genuine commitment to improving the product, driven by continuous negative feedback from users. His persistence made him seem like a nag, when in reality, he was trying to drive necessary change.

Too often, we mistake a rebellious employee for a toxic one. When someone is disruptive or irritating, it’s easy to label them as a problem. Admittedly, rebels aren’t always the easiest team members to manage, but there’s a crucial difference between someone who challenges the status quo to drive improvement and someone who resists authority out of ego or stubbornness.

How to recognise a rebel

Here are four traits to help you distinguish a true rebel from a toxic employee:

  1. Genuine interest. Rebels care deeply about the organisation. They are curious about what their colleagues think and how customers experience the product or service. They seek out the bigger picture. Passionate and energetic, rebels throw themselves into projects with full commitment. They are often frustrated by the apathy or unwillingness of toxic colleagues to engage.
  2. Openness to others. Rebels are good listeners. They are genuinely curious about other perspectives and enjoy thoughtful debate to uncover the root of a problem. They often say things like, “That’s an interesting angle, I hadn’t thought of it that way.” In contrast, toxic employees are rigid and dismissive of differing views, and say things like, “This is the only way it works.”
  3. Informed opinions. Rebels don’t speak up without understanding the issue. Their broad curiosity often leads them to explore various topics in depth. While they may know a lot, they’re also humble, willing to admit when they don’t have all the answers. They’ll say, “I’m not sure about that, I’ll need to look into it.” Toxic employees, by contrast, often make sweeping claims with unwarranted confidence.
  4. Intrinsic motivation. Where toxic employees are often self-serving, seeking praise or approval from leadership, rebels are intrinsically motivated. They aim to make things better for the team and the organisation as a whole, not just for themselves. Recognition is not their goal; improvement is.

Different motivations, different impact

At the core, toxic behaviour and rebelliousness come from entirely different places. The toxic employee wants attention and resists change unless it benefits them personally. The rebel pushes back against inefficient systems and unnecessary bureaucracy because they genuinely believe things can and should be better.

One disrupts the team with negativity. The other energises it with vision and purpose. When managed well, the rebel isn’t a liability, but a catalyst for growth.

This article was originally published in Dutch on MT/Sprout, the most popular business and management platform in the Netherlands.

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