Some ideas don’t land easily. Disrupting the status quo is one of them.
It sounds like a buzzword. It risks sounding reckless. But in practice, positive disruption is something much more human: creating a team culture where people feel safe and motivated to ask, “Is there a better way?”
At Elev-8, we’ve seen this pattern repeatedly – teams who want to improve, but don’t always have the mindset, permission, or skills to challenge the way things are done. Positive disruption is about surfacing better thinking, earlier. And when done right, it leads to smarter decisions, better processes, and a team climate where innovation is everyone’s business.
Why this matters
Let’s be honest – most organisations talk about innovation, but few create the space for it.
Positive disruption is what happens when people feel both safe and empowered to challenge ideas, suggest improvements, and name what’s not working. It’s not a personal attack. It’s not a power move. It’s a skill — and a mindset – that turns discomfort into progress.
When leaders model positive disruption, it sends a message that challenge is healthy, not hostile.
When disruption comes from a positive place – with the intention to help us be better — it changes everything. Positive disruptors are the people who stop us settling. They notice where we’ve got stuck, and they say something.
Avoiding challenge might protect comfort – but it rarely improves performance.
A quick pulse-check
- When was the last time someone in your team challenged how something was done?
- How did you respond?
- Are there conversations people are sitting on because they fear how it might land?
Disruption doesn’t always look like dissent. It’s often a quiet voice of concern that never gets raised, because the team’s culture isn’t yet equipped to hold it.
Try this with your team: “Start–Stop–Swerve”
In your next team meeting, use this simple activity to spot potential positive disruptions:
- Start – What’s one thing we should start doing that could improve how we work?
- Stop – What’s one thing we’re doing out of habit, not value?
- Swerve – What’s one risk or roadblock we keep skimming over, but need to tackle head-on?
Ask each team member to write their answers anonymously on sticky notes or an online board. Group and theme them together. Then explore: What’s the smallest, most meaningful experiment we could run next week?
This exercise makes challenge feel safe, not combative. It separates the problem from the person. And it creates space for the conversations that rarely happen…unless we invite them!
Final thought – Progress needs pressure
Not hostile pressure. Not perfectionism. But the kind of pressure that says, “We care too much to settle.”
At Elev-8, we believe disruption can be healthy, human, and hopeful. But only if the culture supports it.
You can’t tell teams to innovate while punishing challenge. And you can’t ask for fresh ideas if every “no” or “not now” shuts people down.
Managers play a huge role in shaping whether challenge is welcomed or avoided. And when done well, positive disruption becomes a performance advantage – not just a cultural aspiration.
Want to go deeper?
Positive Disruption is one of 30+ proven, practical sessions in our Ready to Go suite of management development topics… built to help your managers lead with more impact, clarity and courage.
